England forlornly strolls into World Cup with late win against Slovenia

The attendances are dwindling at Wembley, and it's pretty obvious why.

Gareth Southgate's England ranks played out a humdrum 1-0 victory against Slovenia on Thursday, with Harry Kane's scruffy 94th-minute effort confirming the Three Lions' route into next summer's World Cup.

Defender Michael Keane, bereft of confidence from a difficult start to his Everton career, was introduced as a substitute for Raheem Sterling after 85 minutes, presumably in an effort to hold onto a goalless draw. That conservative tactical tweak summed up how the 90 minutes dragged on until Kane's late winner.

The three-point snatch wasn't required to book England's ticket to Russia, hence the Keane introduction, and it will do little to boost the fanfare surrounding this England team. The performance was tactically disjointed, technically wanting, and played to a drowsy tempo.

Marcus Rashford was carving promising pathways down the left in the opening half, but when his options were limited he had to look into the middle - a dimension where time appeared to move slower. When Rashford passed infield to Eric Dier and Jordan Henderson, they appeared to be wading through a morass of honey and craft glue, leisurely passing the ball no further than a few yards and invariably sideways. The withdrawn midfielders were keeping a rhythm much too slow for the discordant soloists up ahead - Rashford, Raheem Sterling, and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain - and frontman Kane was therefore fluffing his lines.

(Photo courtesy: Action Images)

The second period didn't change tact. In search of entertainment, fans chucked paper planes and minds drifted onto matters away from the pitch, like how Southgate wears fancy suits, and noting which company splashed out on the most epileptic message flashing on the sponsorship boards. Any change to the tedium would've done - the ball hitting the referee or someone skying over an unmanned net - but nothing happened until Kane's last-ditch tap-in except for strained bickering between the teams and a catalogue of heavy touches.

The six minutes of added time elicited a groan by many watching this match, but it included a gift. Jan Oblak tried to instigate a counter-attack with a throw that was snuffed out by Kyle Walker. The Yorkshire lad then ate up the space in front of him down the right, before delivering a pesky, swerving cross onto Kane's toe. Much like the game itself, it dribbled over the line.