Kane edges England past Lithuania

Harry Kane came off the bench to grab the only goal as Group 1 winners England edged past a stubborn Lithuania.

England dominated proceedings in Kaunas though Lithuania offered a clear threat on the counterattack and arguably fashioned the better chances. Nathan Redmond and Saido Berahino were both dangerous for England but it was Kane who prised the only goal with nine minutes remaining when he nodded in James Ward-Prowse's sumptuous cross.

Tom Ince and Nathaniel Chalobah fired shots wide for England in the first half before Lukas Baranauskas was denied the opener for the hosts when his close-range effort was repelled by goalkeeper Jack Butland.

Gareth Southgate's side improved after half-time with Redmond cracking a strike off the bar and seeing a shot cleared off the line before Lithuania's resistance was finally broken through Tottenham Hotspur FC striker Kane – his fourth goal in the last three qualifiers.

"I think we expected a difficult game because we knew Lithuania would defend deep and would get numbers behind the ball, which is a problem we'd faced quite a lot in this group," said Southgate. "We were well worth the win but sometimes it has to be that you wait until late on in a game to break teams down, so in terms of an away performance I'm very pleased with the way we went about our job."

England's final qualifier is in Moldova on Tuesday before they take their place in the play-off draw on 12 September.