Jesse lingard scored his first international goal as England beat the Netherlands 1-0 on Friday in a friendly that proved Gareth Southgate's team can win without striker Harry Kane.
lingard opened his England account in his ninth international, firing low into the corner past the despairing dive of Jeroen Zoet in the 59th minute after a cross from the left had rebounded to him off a Dutch defender.
It was a deserved victory for England, who looked quicker and more dangerous than the Dutch going forward, even without injured captain Kane, and solid at the back.
"I was pleased. I knew we would have pace and energy in the team but I was really, really pleased with the composure," Southgate said. "At times a little more quality in the final third was needed."
The match at the Amsterdam Arena was a World Cup tune-up for England, while it marked the start of a rebuilding process for new Netherlands coach Ronald Koeman, who took over the reins after the Dutch failed to qualify for the tournament in Russia.
"We were well organized in defense, generally didn't give away many chances, but we didn't create many either," Koeman said.