It had not been confirmed in the build-up to Thursday's game if England would continue with the gesture, with discussions taking place among the squad on the eve of the match.

But, after a period of applause in memory of Glenn Roeder, Frank Worthington, Colin Bell and Peter Swan, the players took the knee – as did the San Marino contingent.

Speaking ahead of the game, manager Gareth Southgate told ITV Sport: "We're going to take the knee.

"I think we're unanimous on the bigger issues. We're a very tight team and we are conscious that there's a little bit of a perception that perhaps the impact is waning a bit.

"But we don't see a better way of broaching the issue at the moment and we feel it's important as a country that they see our national football team united."