Football News - England beat Bulgaria 3-0 in Euro Qualifier
Last updated 9/3/2011 12:01:01 PM
Football News - England beat Bulgaria 3-0 in Euro Qualifier
Smile back on the face of English football.Maybe it is because coach Fabio Capello quits next summer or maybe it is because of a shift in personnel but England began their season with a smile.
There was a smile on the face of key player Wayne Rooney and there was a smile on the face of the Italian Capello as England overran Bulgaria 3-0 in Sofia to move a step nearer qualification for next summer's European Championships in Poland and Ukraine.
It looked like a new side with fresh tactics as Capello introduced Chris Smalling at right back and Gary Cahill into the heart of his defence while there was a rare appearance for Footballer of the Year, new Spurs player Scott Parker.
Smalling made just one discernable error but is clearly bright and intelligent while Cahill scored a super goal and generally gave a display that would have had his suitor earlier in the week, Arsene Wenger, berating himself for not finding the money for such a solid performer.
But it was Rooney, in the form of his life, who laid out the red carpet for England next summer.
He has put behind him the problems of last season after spending the summer on the beach instead of training as instructed, got himself a new head of hair and smiled like someone enjoying what they were doing.
So he should! He scored a hat trick against Arsenal in that ridiculous 8-2 win on Sunday and then scored a couple on Friday night to sink Bulgaria and lift England three points clear at the top of the group.
They were important goals for he has not scored for England since last September and the one before that was the September before. Clearly he likes the month but expect him now to fill in the gaps, starting, he hopes, on Tuesday night at Wembley against Wales.
Battles between home nations have lost some of their glamour but Wales' helpful win over Montenegro on the same night has boosted them while victory for the English would put them on the brink of qualification.
The sight of Capello smiling and joking with his assistant Stuart Pearce was enough to put a chill up not only Welsh manager Gary Speed but other European managers because if the Italian lifts the shackles off his underachieving team before his retirement after the tournament they will be a very dangerous team, indeed.
Captain John Terry says a new-found competition for places is benefiting England, who now top Group G by three points with two games remaining.
"We are almost there," said Terry. "It was a good performance and a great win. We asked for that yesterday.
"What we are seeing is competition for places all over the pitch.
"Wales have shown against Montenegro that they can compete with some really tough sides, so it's going to be tough."
Capello also sounded a note of caution, saying: "We need to be careful. When we play at home we don't start very well in the first half and after that we recover in the second half."
Time to put that right!
Other Euro qualifyer results from Friday:
Albania 1-2 France
Andorra 0-3 Armenia
Azerbaijan 1-1 Belgium
Belarus 0-2 Bosnia-Hercegovina
Bulgaria 0-3 England
Cyprus 0-4 Portugal
Faroe Islands 0-1 Italy
Finland 4-1 Moldova
Georgia 0-1 Latvia
Germany 6-2 Austria
Hungary 2-1 Sweden
Israel 0-1 Greece
Lithuania 0-0 Liechtenstein
Luxembourg 0-2 Romania
Malta 1-3 Croatia
Netherlands 11-0 San Marino
Northern Ireland 0-1 Serbia
Norway 1-0 Iceland
Rep of Ireland 0-0 Slovakia
Russia 1-0 Macedonia
Slovenia 1-2 Estonia
Turkey 2-1 Kazakhstan
Wales 2-1 Montenegro