Rooney Record
September 5, 2015The Manchester United striker came into England's clash against their tiny opponents knowing that he had an excellent chance to get into the history books. And he duly did just that after just 12 minutes, converting a penalty to put the Three Lions up 1-0.
Rooney spurned the chance to take sole possession of England's career scoring record, leaving it to his teammates to inflict the rest of the hurt on San Marino. Cristian Brolli gifted a second goal to Roy Hodgson's team shortly before the half-hour mark.
In the second half, Ross Barkley and Harry Kane were on the mark, and Theo Walcott popped in a brace to complete the 6-0 drubbing. England preserved their perfect record in Group E and have now qualified for the 2016 European Championship.
In other action, Russia picked up a 1-0 home win against Sweden in Group G. Zenit St. Petersburg striker Artyom Dzubya scored the only goal of the match just before half-time. The result leaves the Russians one point behind the second-placed Swedes in the group.
Reigning European champions Spain had an easy time of it against Slovakia in Group C, winning 2-0. Jordi Alba broke the ice after five minutes and Andres Iniesta finished the scoring on the half-hour mark from the penalty spot. The result means that La Roja moved above Slovakia atop the group table.