England remain on top of Euro 2016 qualifying Group E but on evenings as frustrating as this one, witnessed by a predictably modest sized crowd, it’s worth reminding ourselves that Roy Hodgson’s men had a job to do. They can, after all, only beat what is put before them. In this case, it was the minnows of San Marino. 

One of the disappointments from the evening is that we knew that this was an opportunity to impress for many of the players. Many in the crowd of 55,590 will feel that it was an opportunity missed despite warm applause at the final whistle. Five goals is perhaps what we were expecting against this side ranked joint lowest in Fifa’s rankings. However, the performance was far from slick. 

They will need to do better when they face Estonia on Sunday. 

Goals from Phil Jagielka, Wayne Rooney, Danny Welbeck, substitute Andros Townsend and an own-goal from defender Alessandro Della Valle saw off San Marino. 

Manager Roy Hodgson seems to have a talented squad at his disposal, but whether he is able to shape them into a group capable of making a serious impact at a major tournament remains to be seen. Qualification will be done with games to spare in this weak group, but the World Cup showed how far we are off the pace of the top European nations. 

He, however, spoke positively about his players after the match. 

"What also impressed me was the players' desire to work hard to get the ball back,” Hodgson said. “If they can develop those skills then it would stand them in good stead going forward."

Meanwhile, Rooney continues to move closer to Bobby Charlton’s England goal-scoring record after he scored his 42nd for his country, a penalty kick before half-time after he was taken down in the area. He, however, had opportunities to score more. 

On his captain, Hodgson said: “We’d like to think, with the way he is and the footballer he is, he’s got a good few years in him yet. There are plenty of games left. I don’t think we should put any pressure on him to reach targets early.”