England came from behind to earn a point against Hungary and move a step closer to World Cup qualification on a night overshadowed by crowd trouble at Wembley.
John Stones headed the Three Lions level, with the 1-1 draw leaving England in charge of Group I.
Here, we take a look at the main talking points of an evening that will sadly be remembered more for what happened off the pitch than on it.
Hungary fans in hot water again
As the officers made the arrest, minor disorder broke out involving other spectators.Order was quickly restored and there have been no further incidents at this stage.2/2— Metropolitan Police Events (@MetPoliceEvents) October 12, 2021
Just a month on from being hit with FIFA sanctions after monkey chants were aimed at England’s black players in the reverse fixture in Budapest, Hungary were once again let down by their supporters.
After boos greeted England taking the knee before kick-off, Metropolitan Police confirmed officers entered the away end to “arrest a spectator for a racially aggravated public order offence in relation to comments directed towards a steward.”
Clashes between police and a group of fans occurred before order was eventually restored, with further sanctions almost certain to follow.
Qatar 2022 moves into view
🏴 1-1 🇭🇺🇦🇱 0-1 🇵🇱 🇸🇲 0-3 🇦🇩— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) October 12, 2021
While England could not complete a comeback win they remain on course to secure their place at next winter’s World Cup.
With Albania at home and a trip to San Marino to come, it would be unthinkable for England to not make it out of Group I as the winners.
They are now unbeaten in their previous 29 World Cup qualifiers and that looks set to be rewarded with a place in the draw in April.
Five-star City
The fab five! 🦁— Manchester City (@ManCity) October 12, 2021
Five Manchester City players were named in the starting XI for England for the first time.
Half of Gareth Southgate’s outfield line-up currently ply their trade at the Etihad Stadium, with goalscorer John Stones retaining his place from the win in Andorra.
He was joined by club-mates Kyle Walker, Jack Grealish and Raheem Sterling, as well as Phil Foden who was also retained from the weekend victory.
World Cup winners remembered
Before the trouble in the away end, Wembley paid a fitting tribute to two of the England heroes of 1966.
Both Jimmy Greaves and Roger Hunt died in the last month, with the pair remembered fondly ahead of kick-off.
The two teams, as well as the fans inside Wembley, gave Greaves and Hunt a rousing applause as their pictures were shown on the big screens with the England players also sporting black armbands.
Kane reign ends
It was a rare quiet night for England captain Harry Kane.
The Tottenham striker scored three in three during the September internationals and had found the back of the net in his previous 15 qualifying matches for England.
His blank here was the first time he has failed to score in a World Cup or European Championship qualifier in over four years as his wait for a first Premier League goal of the campaign also rumbles on.
