City’s number four came off the bench to tap home his nation’s sixth of the night after the visitors had failed to clear Jack Grealish‘s inviting ball in from the left.
Kyle Walker also grabbed an assist for the hosts’ second as England ran riot, with John Stones and Phil Foden also featuring.
Three strikes in the space of sixteen first half minutes set the tone for a comfortable night at Old Trafford, dealing North Macedonia their heaviest-ever defeat in the process.
The deadlock was broken just before the half-hour mark when Harry Kane was afforded too much space in the area, smashing home Luke Shaw’s cutback at the far post.
Bukayo Saka doubled the advantage soon after, picking up Walker’s ball in from the right before firing into the roof of the net, with Marcus Rashford tapping home into an empty net just before the break after England had won back possession deep in the visitors’ half.
The Three Lions were in the mood, and Saka added his second in spectacular fashion inside two minutes of the restart, picking up Trent Alexander-Arnold’s ball over the top before smashing an unstoppable volley into the top corner from distance.
And the Arsenal man completed his hat-trick soon after, coolly slotting home his first career treble from Jordan Henderson’s pass, a move which had been sparked by John Stones’ incisive ball through the North Macedonia midfield.
Phillips, Foden and Grealish were all introduced just before the hour, and it had the desired effect inside ten minutes.
After patiently waiting for the opening to present itself, Grealish curled a dangerous ball into the North Macedonia box, which could only be cleared into the path of the onrushing Phillips.
It presented our number four with a tap-in for his maiden England strike, and first in all competitions since August 2021.
Six would become seven in the 73rd minute when Stones was brought down in the area, presenting Kane with an opportunity he wasn’t about to pass up from 12 yards.
The Three Lions continued to press for more goals, with Foden seeing a stinging drive deflected just wide late on, but they had to settle for the seven-goal advantage.
England have won all four of their qualifiers thus far, sitting top of Group C.
It was frustrating evening for Manuel Akanji though, whose Switzerland side squandered a two-goal lead to draw 2-2 with Romania.
A brace from FC Basel’s Zeki Amdouni looked to have earned the hosts all three points and maintain their perfect start in to qualifying in a clash between Group I’s top two.
But 89th and and 92nd minute strikes from Valentin Mihaila turned the game on its head.
Akanji and co. still lead the group, but they stay just two points above Romania, while Israel’s victory over Andorra also pushes them to within three points of Switzerland after four matches.
Finally, Shea Charles‘ Northern Ireland were edged out at the death by Kazakhstan.
Our Elite Development Squad captain offered his typical blend of composure on the ball and tenacity off it from a deep-lying midfield role, but Michael O’Neill’s side were unable to make their pressure count.
And they were duly punished in the 88th minute when Abat Aymbetov snatched maximum points.
Northern Ireland remain fifth in Group H, five points behind leaders Finland.
