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England beat Switzerland 2-0 to make it eight wins out of eight in their Group E encounter at Wembley on Tuesday night. Harry Kane and Wayne Rooney got on the scoresheet to give the Three Lions all three points.
Rooney also became the first English player to score 50 international goals. He beat Sir Bobby Charlton’s 45-year-old record of 49 goals with a penalty in the 84th minute. He had earlier equalled the record when he scored in England’s 6-0 win over San Marino over the weekend.
They had already secured qualification with that win and are now sitting pretty at the top of Group E with 24 points and a commanding goal difference of +24. Switzerland occupy second place with 15 points while Slovenia are third with 12 points.
Switzerland make it tough for England
It was no easy task for England who had to grind out a win on the night. The Swiss defence was resilient and it left the Three Lions frustrated for large periods of the game. However, Kane finally got things going in the 67th minute when he took a first-time shot from Luks Shaw’s low cross into the box. The Tottenham Hotspur striker was unmarked in the box and fired low into the bottom corner to beat the goalkeeper.
When it looked like Rooney had to wait one more game to break England’s goalscoring record, Switzerland then handed him the opportunity on a silver platter when Granit Xhaka fouled Raheem Sterling in the box. Up stepped Rooney and the Manchester United striker fired in a superb penalty into the top left corner. Although the goalkeeper guessed correctly and went the right way, he could do nothing about the ferocity of the shot that screamed past him and into the back of the net.
England’s top 10 goal scorers
| # | PLAYER | GOALS | CAPS | POSITION |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wayne Rooney | 50 | 107 | Forward |
| 2 | Bobby Charlton | 49 | 106 | Midfielder |
| 3 | Gary Lineker | 48 | 80 | Forward |
| 4 | Jimmy Greaves | 44 | 57 | Forward |
| 5 | Michael Owen | 40 | 89 | Forward |
| 6 | Nat Lofthouse | 30 | 33 | Forward |
| Alan Shearer | 30 | 63 | Forward | |
| Tom Finney | 30 | 76 | Forward | |
| 9 | Vivian Woodward | 29 | 23 | Forward |
| Frank Lampard | 29 | 106 | Midfielder |
Highlights: England 2-0 Switzerland – Kane 67’, Rooney 84’ (p)
