The Manchester United captain netted after 13 minutes
to go level with the World Cup winner, as Roy Hodgson's side ensured
tournament football in France
England captain Wayne Rooney equalled Sir Bobby Charlton's goalscoring record in a 6-0 win away to San Marino, securing the Three Lions' place at Euro 2016 with three games to spare.
The England and Manchester United captain
had been closing in on Charlton's marker during the current qualifying
campaign and, on the occasion of his 106th cap, matching Charlton's
appearance haul, he pulled level with goal number 49 in international
football.
Rooney scored from the spot in the 13th
minute after the visitors were awarded a soft penalty, but was unable to
take top spot in the all-time goalscoring list for his own before being
substituted just short of the hour mark.
The captain set the ball rolling for England, and Cristian Brolli doubled the advantage with an own goal.
Ross Barkley's first England goal made it
3-0 shortly after the interval, before substitutes Fabian Delph and
Theo Walcott combined for the fourth.
Harry Kane, on in place of Rooney,
chipped the visitors into a 5-0 lead, and Walcott rounded off the
scoring with his second of the match as England convincingly sealed
their place in next year's tournament in France.
With John Stones, Jonjo Shelvey and Jamie
Vardy included from the start, Roy Hodgson was looking to learn more
about the depth of talent at his disposal, but it was the most familiar
of England faces who broke the deadlock for the visitors.
After a whipped James Milner free-kick
into the box appeared to hit Stones on the hand, the referee confusingly
chose to penalise San Marino, booking Marco Berardi, and Rooney stepped
up to slot the ball into the bottom right-hand corner.
Rooney then drew a save from goalkeeper
Aldo Simoncini from a tight angle six minutes later, with Milner unable
to find the target from the rebound, but England continued to dominate
on a challenging playing surface and soon doubled their advantage.
Luke Shaw sent in a dangerous cross from
the left and, desperate to get a head to it, Brolli inadvertently
diverted the ball beyond his own goalkeeper.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain played a key role
as England moved 3-0 in front less than a minute into the second half,
hanging in a cross from the right for Barkley to head home.
Walcott made it 4-0 moments after being
introduced in place of Arsenal team-mate Oxlade-Chamberlain in the 67th
minute by tapping in at the far post from a Delph cross.
Kane then confidently lifted the ball
over Simoncini after being played in by a wonderful Shelvey pass in the
77th minute, before Walcott doubled his tally by shooting across the San
Marino goalkeeper a minute later.
San Marino managed their first shot on
target through Danilo Rinaldi in the closing stages, but the result was
never in doubt and Hodgson can now turn his attentions to planning for
next year's tournament.
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