Southgate, who has been named in temporary charge following Sam Allardyce's departure, handed a debut to Manchester United's Jesse Lingard and named Sturridge and Theo Walcott in his starting XI as well as opting to play captain Wayne Rooney in a holding midfield role.

But for all the changes on and off the pitch England made light work of their opponents to continue their perfect start to qualifying for the 2018 World Cup.

Sturridge, who has seen his playing time at Liverpool limited this season, made the most of the chance to impress by heading England in front from a Jordan Henderson cross in the 29th minute.

And patient build-up play allowed England to double their advantage through Dele Alli in the 38th minute. The Tottenham Hotspur man saw his initial effort saved by Malta goalkeeper Andrew Hogg but poked in the rebound from close range to score his second international goal.

That lead proved enough for England to see out a second win in as many games in Group F and put them in a strong position ahead of Tuesday's trip to Slovenia.