Football
2020 European Championship Qualifying, Group Stage
BUL 
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FT
 ENG
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ESPN 4y

England back on track in Euro qualifying after thrashing Bulgaria

England got their Euro 2020 qualifying campaign back on track with a runaway 6-0 win over Bulgaria in Sofia on Monday in a match that was marred by more racist abuse aimed at Three Lions players.

England were looking to bounce back from Friday's lacklustre 2-1 loss to the Czech Republic -- their first defeat in any type of qualifier since 2009 -- and went ahead inside of 10 minutes when Marcus Rashford fired home from a tight angle to give the Three Lions an early lead.

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Ross Barkley doubled England's lead on 20 minutes, redirecting a Raheem Sterling shot into the net at the far post after the Man City winger worked a nice one-two to get free in the penalty area.

Harry Kane set Barkley up for his second on the night, whipping in a pinpoint cross from the right flank that the Chelsea midfielder headed past Bulgaria keeper Plamen Iliev, with Kane next teeing up Sterling for a close-range tap in to send England into the dressing room with a 4-0 lead at half-time.

The first half saw two stoppages of play under UEFA protocol for handling racist abuse from the crowd, with England defender Tyrone Mings and other players reportedly the subject of racist chants from the crowd.

The UEFA protocol involves the referee first halting play and making an announcement to the supporters and can ultimately end in abandonment of the match.

England peppered the Bulgaria goal throughout the second half, but some good goalkeeping kept them from scoring until Kane set up Sterling for a clever move to beat Iliev and then added a deserved goal of his own to reach the final scoreline.

Gareth Southgate's team finish up European Championship qualifying with a home match against Montenegro on Nov. 14 and an away game against Kosovo three days later.

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