Hungary 0-4 England: 5 talking points as the Three Lions shake off their Euro hangover | 2022 World Cup qualifiers

#3 Harry Kane should’ve scored more goals

Harry Kane found the net once tonight but could've scored four had his finishing been better

England captain Harry Kane has hardly had the most settled summer following his exploits at Euro 2020. His desired move to Manchester City eventually fell through and while he now appears firmly back in the fold with Tottenham, he has yet to find the net in the Premier League.

Tonight he scored an excellent goal – diving to head in Raheem Sterling’s deflected cross – but with some better finishing, he could easily have scored four goals.

Kyle Walker and Jack Grealish both played the Tottenham striker clean through on goal in the second half, only for Kane to surprisingly fluff his lines and fire his shots directly at Hungary keeper Peter Gulacsi.

It was surprising to see such profligate finishing from the captain, particularly when Wayne Rooney’s record of 53 goals for England is now seemingly within touching distance.

Brilliant win in front of a hostile crowd. Kept our composure well to make it four from four. Back to Wembley to try and keep the run going 🦁🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 pic.twitter.com/dFQJEgWjHc

— Harry Kane (@HKane) September 2, 2021

Tonight’s goal moved Kane onto 39 overall, leaving him 14 short of equalling Rooney, and it now seems highly likely that he’ll surpass the former Manchester United man.

However, Kane will need to finish his chances better than he did tonight if he wants to break the record sooner rather than later. Given that he’s likely to be rested for Sunday’s match against Andorra – which is likely to be one-sided – he’ll probably be rueing a rare bad showing in front of goal tonight.

#4 Questionable crowd behaviour mars another international game

The behaviour of some of Hungary's fans was highly questionable at tonight's match

While Gareth Southgate was quick to point out that England has its own problems when it comes to players facing abuse, it’s safe to say that the scenes in Budapest tonight would not be repeated inside many other grounds.

There’s nothing wrong with fans providing a hostile atmosphere to visiting sides – Turkish teams have done this for years, for instance – but it’s safe to say that Hungary’s fans took it too far tonight.

Not only did they boo when England took a knee prior to kick-off to raise awareness of racism in football, but they also jeered England’s black players – most notably Raheem Sterling – throughout the game.

And when Sterling opened the scoring in the second half, he was visibly pelted with debris, including various cups. Meanwhile, it was reported on UK television that monkey chants were heard from the crowd, aimed at Sterling and unused substitute Jude Bellingham.

It’s clear that the issue of racism inside football grounds – particularly in Eastern Europe – just isn’t going away right now, and it might be time for both UEFA and FIFA to crack down on this behavior with a hard-line stance.

If there’s any justice in football, then Hungary should probably be forced to play at least their next game behind closed doors after the highly questionable scenes in Budapest tonight.

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#5 Can Kane and Mount co-exist against tougher opponents?

Mason Mount appeared to struggle slightly in the first half of tonight's game.

The lone negative for England after tonight’s excellent showing was the performances of Mason Mount and Harry Kane in the first half.

While the second half brought dramatic improvement, particularly as Hungary tired, England’s attack often looked labored in the early going.

Most notably, it appeared that Mount simply couldn’t affect the game from his spot as England’s primary playmaker, and this seemed to be down to Kane’s tendency to drop deep in order to receive the ball. Essentially, the two players seemed to be getting in one another’s way.

Obviously this didn’t matter in the end as Hungary were swept aside, but it’s worth noting that England had similar problems in the Euro 2020 final against Italy – a game in which Mount seemed largely anonymous.

That suggests that this problem may rear its head again for the Three Lions, particularly when they are faced with tougher opposition. It may be something Gareth Southgate needs to get his head around sooner rather than later, and it may well require a change of personnel to do so.

Perhaps moving Jack Grealish – who is more of a dribbler than a passer like Mount – into a more central role would do the trick?