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England and North Macedonia captains Harry Kane and Stefan Ristovski were involved in a nasty clash of heads during the two nations' Euro 2024 qualifying match on Monday night. The latter came off worse from the collision, requiring treatment after sustaining a cut which left blood pouring from his head.
Heading into the clash against North Macedonia, confidence was high in the Three Lions camp after their incredibly routine 4-0 win over Malta on Friday night.
But there was a scare in the first half when Kane went down clutching his head in the 17th minute after he attempted to divert Jordan Henderson’s cross towards goal. However, the delivery was intercepted by Ristovski, who felt the impact of Kane’s attempted header as a result.
Kane clattered into the back of the Macedonian's head. Both players required immediate treatment, with the North Macedonia captain being shown wiping blood from the side of his head after sustaining a cut.
The captains soon returned to their feet, with Kane opening the scoresheet just nine minutes later when sweeping home a neat passing move following a cross from Manchester United defender Luke Shaw – a combination that Erik ten Hag will be hoping to see more of at Old Trafford next season.
Arsenal star Bukayo Saka then doubled England’s lead when he smashed home from close range, before Marcus Rashford got his well-deserved goal on the stroke of half-time when a defensive mistake was capitalised upon and squared to the United star to tap home.
North Macedonia were then forced to rejig their backline at the interval after Ristovski was withdrawn, having never truly looking comfortable after the collision with Kane. Enis Bardhi entered the fray in his place, though he was simply dropped into the firing line as England ran riot.
Saka grabbed his second with a stunning volley minutes after the restart before racing onto a pass in behind to score his hat-trick. Manchester City’s Kalvin Phillips then made it 6-0 in the 64th minute when he arrived late to open his account on the international stage.
After that, Kane scored his second from the penalty spot to make it 7-0 in the 73rd minute before making way for Newcastle star Callum Wilson in what was a dominant display by Gareth Southgate's side which will have provided the England boss with plenty of food for thought in more competitive games.