Perfect England ease past Lithuania
Friday, March 27, 2015
Article summary
England 4-0 Lithuania
The home side made it five Group E wins with Wayne Rooney scoring his 47th international goal and debutant Harry Kane his first.
Article top media content
Article body
• England maintain their 100% record in Group E
• Wayne Rooney opens scoring before Danny Welbeck doubles lead
• Raheem Sterling and Harry Kane claim first goals – Kane 79 seconds into debut
• Lithuania's first trip to England brings third defeat in five group games
• Next games: Slovenia v England, Lithuania v Switzerland (14 June)
England made it five wins out of five in UEFA EURO 2016 qualifying with a comfortable victory over Lithuania.
Wayne Rooney opened the scoring after six minutes and Danny Welbeck and Raheem Sterling added further goals before Harry Kane, the in-form Tottenham Hotspur FC striker, came off the bench and notched a fairy-tale debut goal inside 79 seconds.
Roy Hodgson's side started brightly and Rooney had already struck a post with a low shot when he headed his 47th international goal from close range after six minutes. Welbeck was the architect, slipping past a defender on the edge of the box and driving in a low effort that Giedrius Arlauskis parried, with Rooney first to the loose ball.
Rooney, now two goals shy of Bobby Charlton's England record, might have had another with a looping header onto the crossbar from Welbeck's cross. England were pressing high and maintaining a high tempo and Joe Hart was untroubled, although it did take a fine block by Phil Jones to stop Deivydas Matulevičius connecting with a low cross from Vytautas Andriuškevičius.
The second goal arrived moments before half-time when Welbeck's header from Jordan Henderson's cross deflected in off Lithuania captain Tadas Kijanskas. Then, after Fabian Delph was denied by Arlauskis, Sterling made it three by turning in Rooney's low centre.
The biggest roar of the night was for Kane's introduction and the 21-year-old did not disappoint. With his third touch in international football, he stooped to head the fourth goal at the far post, Arlauskis getting his hands to the ball in vain.