3 things we learned from England’s 3-0 victory over Scotland

England looks well in control of their World Cup qualifying fate, and they’ve left rivals Scotland with a lot of work to do. The Three Lions were excellent in front of goal on Friday, recording a 3-0 win at Wembley by finishing 100 percent of their shots on target.

Daniel Sturridge got England off to a great start with a goal in the 23rd minute. Raheem Sterling had a shot from the edge of the box blocked, but it deflected out wide to Kyle Walker, who beat his man and hit a cross with pace towards the near post. Sturridge got on the end of the ball and nodded it into the back of the net, giving England a one-goal lead that they’d carry into halftime.

Scotland should have equalized after the break, but missed two golden chances, both set up by Lee Wallace. James Forrest shot wide off his cross in the 49th minute, and Robert Snodgrass failed to make great contact in a similar situation a minute later.

They were made to pay for their poor finishing a minute later, when Adam Lallana doubled England’s lead. At the end of a well-worked move that looked quite a bit like the opening goal, just on the opposite side, Danny Rose squared for Lallana to redirect a close-range diving header into the back of the net.

Any hopes of a Scotland comeback were thoroughly squashed in the 61st minute. Gary Cahill was the scorer of England’s third -- a third header -- by getting on the end of a near-post corner by Wayne Rooney and beating Craig Gordon.

Goals: Sturridge (23’), Lallana (50’), Cahill (61’)

Goals: None.

Daniel Sturridge can still be a top striker -- Liverpool has limited Daniel Sturridge to Cup games and substitute appearances lately, mostly because they’ve been so effective while he was injured that they had no reason to change their lineup. But he was utterly dominant in his last League Cup start, and his opener against Scotland was well-deserved, too. Even if Sturridge isn’t the perfect fit for Liverpool’s starting XI right now, he can still be an effective player for them and England whenever he’s called upon. He hasn’t lost a step yet, despite all of his injuries.

This is a different game if Scotland take their chances -- While it would be nice to heap unqualified praise on Gareth Southgate and this England team, the reality is that they should have conceded at the beginning of the second half. And despite their lack of possession, Scotland had more shots than England on the night. The difference between the teams is that England had clinical finishing and Scotland didn’t.

But it’s still nice to see England playing with some joy and confidence -- So often, England games are a terrible slog. They keep the ball well enough, but do nothing with it. No one makes attacking runs, no one tries anything creative, no one looks like they’re terribly bothered by their struggles to score. But in this game, England’s players played like they do for their club teams.

Maybe it was the rivalry that brought it out of them? Or maybe it was their desire to impress a new coach? In any event, it would be great to see more of this for England.