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09/07/10 04:25:00
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09/07 16:22 CDT England beats Switzerland 3-1 in Euro qualifier
England beats Switzerland 3-1 in Euro qualifier
By GRAHAM DUNBAR
AP Sports Writer
BASEL, Switzerland (AP) -- Wayne Rooney put aside the embarrassing headlines
back home to score the opening goal for England in a 3-1 victory over
Switzerland on Tuesday night in a European Championship qualifier.
Rooney scored in the 10th minute, slotting home Glen Johnson's pass for his
first England goal since last Sept. 9 against Croatia.
Substitute Adam Johnson rounded goalkeeper Diego Benaglio to make it 2-0 in the
69th, four minutes after Swiss right back Stephan Lichtsteiner was ejected for
fouling James Milner.
Teenager Xherdan Shaqiri gave Switzerland hope with a long-range goal in the
71st, but England substitute Darren Bent sealed the game in the 88th with a low
shot.
Following its 4-1 loss to Germany in the second round of the World Cup, coach
Fabio Capello's team opened Euro 2012 qualifying with back-to-back wins. The
Three Lions routed Bulgaria 4-0 at Wembley last Friday.
England resumes Group G play at home against Montenegro on Oct. 12, four days
after Switzerland travels to the Montenegrins.
Capello insisted on Monday that it was best for Rooney to play to escape the
pressure in his personal life following Sunday tabloid stories alleging he
cheated on his pregnant wife last year with a prostitute.
The England coach opted to partner former Everton teammates Phil Jagielka and
Joleon Lescott in central defense, with regular starters Rio Ferdinand and John
Terry out injured.
England soon mastered a wet field soaked by a downpour during the warmups and
scored at the end occupied by its 3,000 traveling fans.
Johnson overlapped, and the right back pulled back a pass that was perfectly
dummied by Jermain Defoe for Rooney, arriving late and unmarked, to slot home
in front of goal.
It was a 26th international goal for the Manchester United forward, who was
then joined on the field by a fifth Manchester City player when Adam Johnson
replaced Walcott, who was injured in the scoring move. The Arsenal winger was
taken to hospital for scan on a suspected sprained right ankle.
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