San Marino vs. England: Winners and Losers from Euro 2016 Qualifier
England sealed qualification to UEFA Euro 2016 with a comfortable 6-0 win away at San Marino on Saturday evening.
The comfortable Group E victory will be fondly remembered by captain Wayne Rooney after his 13th-minute penalty saw him equal Sir Bobby Charlton's all-time national team scoring record of 49 goals.
The striker opened the scoring from the spot and went close to breaking the record at several points.
It was Cristian Brolli who would net next, however. By quirk of fate, the San Marino defender's unfortunate headed deflection off a Luke Shaw cross put Rooney level with Charlton on the England scoring list.
Ross Barkley made it 3-0 shortly after half-time, converting an Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain cross. Theo Walcott, the latter's replacement, made it four, and he would net again with 12 minutes remaining after fellow substitute Harry Kane scored England's fifth.
Read on for some winners and losers from this European Championships qualifier.
Winner: Roy Hodgson
1 of 5
Seven wins from seven qualifying matches and a place at Euro 2016 confirmed, Roy Hodgson has bounced back from England's disappointing 2014 World Cup in as positive a way as he could have hoped for.
Putting six past lowly San Marino does not say too much about his young team's prospects, but he was understandably pleased with the job they did.
"I'm satisfied we've won it by a good margin and now we've qualified, we'll see what happens," he said, per Mark Gilbert of the Football Association's website.
The aim now will be to conclude Group E with a 100 per cent record and to continue to establish the kind of confidence that was decidedly absent out in Brazil.
Games against Switzerland, Estonia and Lithuania will not provide too exacting a test of England's credentials, though. The manager knows they will need to make the most of some scheduled high-profile friendlies if they are to make a dent on next summer's tournament in France.
"We won't be looking to improve our FIFA ranking by playing lower-ranked teams—we'll be trying to play against the best and see if we can compete with them," he said, with friendlies against Germany and France in the pipeline.
Loser: San Marino
2 of 5
Last month, Hodgson made a comment inferring England's cricketers might have been decent enough footballers to use against San Marino. Unsurprisingly, their manager Pierangelo Manzaroli took umbrage with his counterpart, per the Telegraph's Jeremy Wilson.
The amiable Hodgson will likely have attempted to make amends for any offence caused by the comment.
Nonetheless, you can imagine Manzaroli still liked the thought of showing England his team could play football—perhaps plastering newspaper cuttings of the "inflammatory" words across the San Marino changing room in an attempt to inspire a level of motivation that might inflict even just a moment or two of comeuppance.
Alas, the 193rd-ranked nation were not able to enjoy their desired few minutes of vindication, falling foul of England's superior fitness as the match wore on.
Manuel Battistini almost forced an error from Joe Hart, while Danilo Rinaldi tested the goalkeeper following a fine flick-on from Jose Hirsch.
Otherwise, San Marino's highlights were restricted to a few impressive saves from goalkeeper Aldo Simoncini as he looked to keep out the inevitable England onslaught.
Winner: Wayne Rooney
3 of 5
"Enjoyed your company, Wayne Rooney," wrote former England striker Gary Lineker on Twitter after seeing the current frontman move ahead of him in the country's scoring list. "Trying to get used to only being the third highest goalscorer....so humiliating."
Lineker's self-deprecating humour underlined just what an achievement Rooney going joint top of the list is. His predecessor went so close to being England's most prolific ever finisher himself, and for the best part of 25 years, he has not seen anyone get near him.
Rooney's path has been helped somewhat by a lack of competition compared to what the likes of Lineker, Michael Owen and Alan Shearer faced. An underperformer at major tournaments up until now (bar his Euro 2004 breakthrough), Rooney will have plenty to prove at Euro 2016.
As Bleacher Report's Paul Ansorge has been looking at, Rooney's role leading the line for Manchester United is deservedly also coming under scrutiny. WhoScored.com noted during Saturday's match that Rooney's last 10 appearances for England have produced eight goals, while his 10 most recent Premier League outings for Man United have drawn a blank.
He is as complicated figure as there has been in the modern English game. But for all that has led up to this point, good and bad, the place in history Rooney has carved out for himself cannot be denied.
"It's a proud moment for me to equal Sir Bobby's record, and my aim is to push on and try and help the team get the victory on Tuesday night and break that record and become the out-and-out record holder," he said, as reported by Mark Gilbert.
The 29-year-old should enjoy his achievement.
Loser: England's Defence
4 of 5
There was little really to fault about England's performance. They took their best chances, moved the ball around decently and quickly recognised attacking from the flanks was the best way of bypassing the numerous San Marino bodies stacked up in defence of their own penalty area.
The only qualm Hodgson may have been over the few slight lapses in concentration from his own defence. The aforementioned San Marino chances were also accompanied by a couple of near slip-ups by centre-back pair of Phil Jagielka and John Stones.
It is nit-picking in this case.
The Everton team-mates were solid enough, while their familiarity could ultimately count in their favour with regards to the national team.
Full-backs Nathaniel Clyne and Luke Shaw's performances were commensurate with their solid starts to the season. The latter especially looks far more assured now in his second year with Manchester United.
Yet, off the back of a woeful defensive display in their previous qualifier—the 3-2 win over Slovenia in June—there does remain questions over just how solid England are at the back.
Goalkeeper Hart was the only survivor from the back five to start that match. His place is safe, but others still have plenty to prove. They will need to do so against much stronger opposition, too.
Winner: Shelvey and Vardy
5 of 5
Hodgson made a point of confirming prior to facing San Marino he would start Jonjo Shelvey and Jamie Vardy, per the FA website. Afterward, the former was among those he singled out for praise.
"Jonjo Shelvey really does deserve a mention because he played faultlessly for 90 minutes—that was a good performance," Hodgson noted.
It is hard to disagree. The Swansea City midfielder set up Kane's goal with a tremendously placed and weighted through ball, while his near impeccable passing was at the root of many of his team's best moves (he finished with 86.2 per cent pass success rate, per WhoScored.com).
Vardy, meanwhile, was a willing runner for Shelvey and others all game. Helping stretch the play out wide, he also popped up several times in the channels, barely allowing San Marino's defence a moment's rest.
Competition for places is as encouraging as it has been in years—in the more attacking positions, anyway.
With Jordan Henderson and Jack Wilshere unavailable in midfield, and Kane and Walcott making impacts off the bench in attack, Shelvey and Vardy will have their work cut out earning more minutes in the months to come.
Off the back of the strong openings to their respective club campaigns that earned them their starts in San Marino, however, they will have ensured they remain on Hodgson's mind.
.jpg?w=600 "Colts Release Kenny Moore")
