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England national football team
European Championship | Qualifiers
Nov 15, 2014 at 5pm UK
 
Slovenia national football team

3-1

Rooney (59' pen.), Welbeck (66', 72')
FT(HT: 0-0)
Henderson (58' og.)

Match Analysis: England 3-1 Slovenia

Sports Mole takes an in-depth look at England's 3-1 victory over Slovenia this evening as the Three Lions maintain their 100% start to Euro 2016 qualifying.

Wayne Rooney marked his 100th cap for England with a goal this evening as he helped his side come from behind to beat Slovenia 3-1 at Wembley.

Jordan Henderson had nodded the ball into his own net to give the visitors a surprise lead, but Rooney won and dispatched a penalty just two minutes later to draw level with Jimmy Greaves as the third highest England scorer ever.

Danny Welbeck's mis-hit effort gave the hosts the lead shortly afterwards, before the Arsenal striker doubled his personal tally and sealed the win following a nice interchange with Raheem Sterling

Here, Sports Mole looks at whether England deserved to maintain their 100% record in Euro 2016 qualifying.

Match statistics

England
Shots: 13
On target: 5
Possession: 60%
Corners: 9
Fouls: 17

Slovenia
Shots: 4
On target: 0
Possession: 40%
Corners: 2
Fouls: 12

Was the result fair?

Yes. England once again failed to entertain their fans for much of the game, particularly in the first half, but there is no doubt that they deserved the three points today. As the stats show, they dominated possession and created the better chances throughout the match, with Slovenia kept busy trying to contain the hosts.

It was certainly not a thriller in the opening 45 minutes, with neither side managing a shot on target, but it did improve after the break. Henderson's own goal really livened the game up, and England began to come out and play when they knew that they needed to overturn the deficit.

Slovenia held their own for long periods and did a good job of frustrating Roy Hodgson's side, but they certainly didn't do enough to win this game, or even draw it. England were good value for three points which maintain their perfect start to the Group E.

England's performance

It was the same old England in the first half as they saw plenty of the ball but failed to threaten the opposition goal. Samir Handanovic was not tested once by an England player before the break, despite the hosts getting into some promising positions. They were in complete control of the game, but just did not have the cutting edge in the final third.

Henderson's own goal was exactly the wake-up call that they needed, although it may concern Hodgson that it took them falling behind to spark them into life. Even so, he will be delighted with how his side responded. England were immeasurably better once they really began getting at Slovenia and, while that may have something to do with the visitors tiring, hopefully it will convince Hodgson to get on the front foot from the very first whistle in future matches.

The lack of a clean sheet may slightly annoy the hosts considering that they were on the verge of a record-equalling sixth consecutive shutout, but that is something of an anomaly considering Slovenia scored without having a shot on target. It is now five straight wins and four from four in qualifying so, while the performances can still improve, there is nothing wrong with the results right now.

Slovenia's performance

It was always going to be tough for Slovenia to come away from this match with anything, but Srecko Katanec must have thought that he was on the verge of a smash-and-grab result when his side took the lead against the run of play. They quickly squandered that advantage, though, and it was an avoidable equaliser as Bostjan Cesar needlessly clipped the heels of Rooney inside the box.

The visitors actually looked fairly comfortable in the first half, soaking up England's possession without ever really threatening at the other end themselves. They made themselves difficult to play through and protected Handanovic very well before the break. However, as soon as they began to tire, more holes started to appear and England got a lot more joy.

Having no shots on target is not a statistic Katanec will be proud of and, even if he did come to Wembley in the hope of a 0-0 draw, he would have liked for his side to show a little more threat in the final third. However, defeat is not a shock for him and Slovenia are still well placed in Group E after four games.

Sports Mole's man of the match

Danny Welbeck: There was no outstanding candidate for this award tonight, although Nathaniel Clyne on his debut and Jack Wilshere deserve honourable mentions. It goes to Welbeck, though, who netted a brace to continue his fine scoring record when starting as a centre-forward for England. His first goal was very scrappy, but the second was really well taken as he finished off a lovely move.

Biggest gaffe

Cesar deserves a mention here for his trip on Rooney to concede the penalty, but the gaffe of the game has to go to Henderson for his own goal. In fairness to the midfielder, he probably did need to get something on what was a dangerous ball, but he failed to get the height required on his header as he planted it beyond Joe Hart.

Referee performance

Olegario Benquerenca had a decent game this evening, keeping control of the match well. His biggest decision was to award the penalty, and it was a clear one for him to give. He did, however, miss an apparent elbow by Cesar on Adam Lallana on the first half, which could have resulted in a red card for the Slovenia skipper.

What next?

England: Next up for England is a trip to face the auld enemy Scotland at Celtic Park on Tuesday.

Slovenia: Slovenia are also in action on Tuesday as they welcome Colombia to Ljubljana.

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Wayne Rooney of England celebrates as he scores their first and equalising goal from a penalty during the EURO 2016 Qualifier Group E match between England and Slovenia on November 15, 2014
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Tables header RHS

Group A

TeamPWDLPTS
1 Germany Germany00000
2 Hungary Hungary00000
3 Scotland flag Scotland00000
4 Switzerland Switzerland00000

Group B

TeamPWDLPTS
1 Albania national flag Albania00000
2 Croatia Croatia00000
3 Italy Italy00000
4 Spain Spain00000

Group C

TeamPWDLPTS
1 Denmark Denmark00000
2 England flag England00000
3 Serbia Serbia00000
4 Slovenia Slovenia00000

Group D

TeamPWDLPTS
1 Austria Austria00000
2 France France00000
3 Netherlands Netherlands00000
4 Poland Poland00000

Group E

TeamPWDLPTS
1 Belgium Belgium00000
2 Romania Romania00000
3 Slovakia Slovakia00000
4 Ukraine Ukraine00000

Group F

TeamPWDLPTS
1 Czech Republic Czech Republic00000
2 Georgia Georgia00000
3 Portugal Portugal00000
4 Turkey Turkey00000


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