Adam Lallana proves England’s lucky charm

Slovakia 0, England 1: England have a new lucky charm after their dramatic World Cup qualifier victory in Trnava last night - a shiny gold coin given to new manager Sam Allardyce by a Slovakian fan.

The stuffed Lions that travelled with the team during their ill-fated Euro 2016 campaign have been consigned to storage but as Allardyce reflected on Adam Lallana’s 94th-minute winner in his first game as national boss, he held a newly-acquired memento in his hand.

“I got this lucky penny off a lad today in the hotel,” he explained. “A father and his son in a wheelchair came to the hotel this morning and asked if it was okay to have a picture. When we finished he said: ‘Let me give you a lucky coin.’ Here it is. I had it with me in my pocket, we won, so it’ll stay with me.