England skipper Wayne Rooney scored a late 86th minute winner against Slovenia yesterday to maintain their 100% record in qualifying for Euro 2016. The Three Lions now have 18 points from six successive wins in qualifying for Euro 2016 and have gone a whole season without losing a match for the first time since 1990 -1; they are first in Group E, six points clear of Switzerland. The visitors played fast and enjoyed the majority of possession in the first half, but their shocking defensive error lead to the hosts' striker Milovoje Novakovic being set free on goal, as Slovenia took the lead in the 37th minute.
This was 30th international goal for the Slovenian striker who currently plays for Japanese side Nagoya Crampus. Roy Hodgson would have had stern words with his team at the interval, and made an attacking tactical switch, as he sent on Liverpool's Adam Lallana on for Phil Jones, and pushed Jordan Henderson to right-back, whilst Nathaniel Clyne stayed on the bench. The reshuffle changed the face of the game, as England then responded in the second-half with two spectacular left-footed strikes from Jack Wilshire in the space of 16 minutes. Both finishes by Arsenal's central midfielder arrowed into the top corner of Samir Handanovic's net, for his first goals in 28 England appearances. The visitors then looked like they had control of the game but Slovenia produced a cross of the highest quality from the left-flank, as England's defence eased off and Nejc Pecnik rose above Kieran Gibbs at the back post, and directed a towering header past Joe Hart in the 84th minute; this made it 2-2.
But only two minutes after the Slovenian supporters started to celebrate a point, Rooney responded with a masterpiece, as he scored his 48th goal for England in 102 caps. He is now level with Gary Lineker and only one goal behind Sir Bobby Charlton's record of 49 goals; hopefully the Manchester striker will have an excellent chance to be the first person to score a half-century for the Three Lions in the next qualifier match against San Marino on 5th September.
