Wayne Rooney scored a late winner as England came from behind to claim a 3-2 victory over Slovenia in their Euro 2016 qualifier this evening.
Raheem Sterling placed an effort over the bar and Wayne Rooney saw a powerful strike saved by Samir Handanovic as the Three Lions made a dominant start.
However, Slovenia took the lead shortly before half time when Milivoje Novakovic raced onto Josip Ilicic's through ball and placed a low shot into the corner.
Jack Wilshere then levelled the scores with a powerful strike into the top corner, before the Arsenal midfielder hammered in another stunning goal to give the visitors the lead.
Nejc Pecnik's header looked to have earned a point for Slovenia, but minutes later Rooney scored his 48th international goal to extend England's winning run in qualifying.
Find out how the action unfolded with Sports Mole's live text coverage below.
Hello everyone! It's been a busy weekend of action in the race to qualify for Euro 2016 and the action continues as England look to maintain their unbeaten record in Group E. Roy Hodgson's side have been relatively untroubled so far, but will Slovenia be able to stop them in their tracks?
A quick look at the group table shows England leading the way with five wins from their opening five qualifiers. They are six points clear of Slovenia and Switzerland, who seem to be battling for second spot and you suspect that another three points today will mean that they can start planning for a trip to France next summer.
There's lots more to discuss between now and kick off, but it's time to check out the team news from today's clash, which has just filtered through to us.
TEAMS:
SLOVENIA XI: Handanovic, Brecko, Cesar, B. Ilic, Jokic, J. Ilicic, Kurtic, Kirm, Kampl, Mertel, Novakovic
ENGLAND XI: Hart, Jones, Cahill, Smalling, Gibbs, Wilshere, Henderson, Delph, Townsend, Sterling, Rooney
So, that's how the teams will begin in Ljubljana this evening. England have made three changes from the side that drew against Ireland last week, as Kieran Gibbs, Fabian Delph and Andros Townsend come into the starting lineup.
There is also a start for Raheem Sterling, despite the constant speculation surrounding the forward over his Liverpool future. Captain Wayne Rooney leads the attack, with Bobby Chartlon's goalscoring record in his sights, and Jack Wilshere once again takes up a deeper role in the midfield.
Meanwhile, Slovenia are led by veteran striker Milivoje Novakovic, with Borussia Dortmund's Kevin Kampl expected to support him in the attack. There is also a place in goal for Samir Handanovic, while skipper Bostjan Cesar will be picking up an 83rd cap for his country.
Things are certainly going a lot better for England now than they were this time last year, when they played Italy in their opening World Cup match. That game ended in a 2-1 defeat to the Azzurri and there were further disappointments to come against Uruguay and Costa Rica as the Three Lions crashed out in the group stages.
Since that poor showing in Brazil, England have put together a good run of form and they are unbeaten in their last 10 outings. As we have mentioned, five of those games have come in their qualifying group for Euro 2016 and in those matches they have conceded just one goal.
They had actually kicked off Group E with a trip to Switzerland, which was seen as the toughest match that they would play in qualifying. However, Roy Hodgson's men produced a fine display and a double from Arsenal forward Danny Welbeck saw them claim a 2-0 victory in Basel.
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A routine 5-0 thumping of San Marino followed, before a free kick from Wayne Rooney in their next match against Estonia helped to grind out a 1-0 victory. The Three Lions were then given a more serious test of their credentials against Slovenia last November at Wembley, as an own goal from Jordan Henderson saw the visitors take a surprise lead.
England hit back almost immediately, though, and Wayne Rooney struck home a penalty to level the scores just a minute later. Danny Welbeck then added another brace to further his fine goalscoring form in qualifying and seal another victory.
Their most recent win in qualifying came in March against Lithuania and it was another confident performance that ended in a four-goal romp. Harry Kane even got his name on the scoresheet on his international debut, after being on the pitch for just 80 seconds.
Since then, England have drawn their last two games, which have been friendlies against Italy and the Republic of Ireland. A late effort from Andros Townsend cancelled out a strike from Graziano Pelle in that clash with the Azzurri, while there was very little to talk about in last week's dull goalless affair with Ireland.
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Today's match will only be the fourth time that these two nations have played each other. In their three previous meetings, it has been England who have come out on top. They first met in a friendly at Wembley in 2009, which ended in a 2-1 win for the hosts and a year later they faced off in the group stages of the World Cup, with Jermain Defoe scoring the only goal to help England reach the last 16.
Should England manage to avoid defeat, then it will be the first time that they have gone unbeaten in a season for 24 years. That was back in the 1990-1991 season, when the Three Lions finished their campaign by earning a 4-2 victory over Malaysia, with Gary Linker scoring all of the goals.
We could also witness an England record in todays' match if Wayne Rooney scores a couple of goals. He has scored 47 times for England in his 104 appearances and is just two behind Bobby Charlton's record of 49 goals. If he does it today, then he will have also set the record in a slightly quicker time than Charlton managed.
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PREDICTION: England have been in brilliant form during qualifying and many will expect them to win a sixth game in a row, but this could prove to be their biggest test. Slovenia have a lot of experienced players in their side and will not go down without a fight. I still feel that the Three Lions will have a bit too much quality, so I'm going to tip them to claim a 2-0 victory that will edge them ever closer to next year's finals.
Here's how things are looking at the Stozice Stadium as the game edges closer to kick off.
PHOTO: @JackWilshere and his #ThreeLions team-mates preparing for action in Ljubljana #SvnEng pic.twitter.com/ddU16kH9ZE
— England (@england) June 14, 2015
The players have just made their out onto the pitch and before the action gets started we are now going to hear the national anthems of both teams, starting with England.
KICKOFF! We are underway at the Stozice Stadium!
CHANCE! England have made a bright start to the match and they really should be ahead. Sterling has a golden chance to score, as the ball breaks through to him kindly inside the box, but his sidefoot finish towards the top right corner ends up dropping wide of the target.
Down the other end of the pitch Slovenia win a corner and they get plenty of men forward. The ball is then whipped in towards the near post by Kirm, where Novakovic gets a flick and sees his header deflect behind of Jones. However, the referee did not spot the touch from the defender and gives the visitors a goal kick.
Wilshere has shown some neat touches in the early stages and he drives through the midfield, before exchanging passes with Delph outside the box and slipping in Gibbs out wide. The full back's low delivery into the box is then blocked behind for a corner, but England are unable to make anything of the resulting set piece.
The visitors have made a really dominant start to the match and Slovenia just can't get a hold of the ball. The pressure is certainly starting to mount, but Sterling's effort is the closest Hodgson's side have come, with Handanovic left untroubled.
CHANCE! It's another chance for England, as Rooney finds Sterling in space just outside the box. The Liverpool forward then shifts the ball past two defenders and onto his right foot, before drilling in a low strike that takes a slight deflection and heads a few inches wide of the post.
Some of the play from England in the midfield has been very impressive and they are comfortable in possession. Wilshere, Delph and Henderson have all linked up well, while Sterling is looking a danger whenever he gets on the ball.
I just spoke about Sterling being a real danger and he shows his threat once more by getting to the byline down the left and flashing a low across the six-yard box. His delivery is just too far ahead of Rooney and ends up going all the way across, but it was another fine piece of play from the Liverpool man.
SAVE! You just feel that England are getting closer to a goal and they work another great opening when Rooney is found inside the box by Delph. He is out wide to the left and looks to drill a low strike into the far corner, but Handanovic gets down quickly to brilliantly tip the ball behind for a corner.
CHANCE! Slovenia have not shown too much threat, but they are given a chance to get men into the box from a free kick. It's Ilicic who whips it into the box, with Ilic rising to meet it, but he can't get enough power on the header and Hart comfortably makes the save.
There have been quite a few opportunities for England from set pieces and they awarded a free kick just oustide the box down the left-hand side after Sterling goes down. Henderson goes across to take it, but his whipped delivery is headed clear from just in front of Handanovic's goal.
At the moment, the only thing missing from England is a goal, as they have played some great football in this first half. The link up play towards the edge of the box has been superb, but they just need to show a little more quality in the final third.
SHOT! We all know that Townsend is capable of the spectacular and he fancies his chances when he cuts inside from the right and works some space to shoot. The Spurs player then fires in a low strike, but he doesn't catch the ball cleanly and Handanovic is able to get down and claim with ease.
GOAL! Slovenia 1-0 England (Milivoje Novakovic)
Out of absolutely nothing, Slovenia take the lead and it's the veteran Novakovic who finds the back of the net. The striker times his run to perfection to latch onto Ilicic's through ball and beat England's offside trap, before he slots a composed effort into the corner past Hart. It has come against the run of play and the visitors will have it all to do now.
It's worth remembering that England came from behind to beat Slovenia in their last meeting, but it is sure to be a much tougher ask this time around. There looked to be no danger from the hosts, but England's attempts at playing Novakovic offside were poor and they were cruelly punished.
That goal has understandably raised the volume in the crowd and Slovenia will make sure that they can hold onto their lead going into half time. They haven't seen much of the ball, but they have made the most of it and are on course to move three points above Switzerland in the Group E table.
HALF-TIME: Slovenia 1-0 England
It's half time in Ljubljana and Slovenia have a surprising lead against England. They saw little of the ball in the opening 45 minutes, but a clinical finish from Milivoje Novakovic has raised their hopes of securing an automatic qualifying spot for Euro 2016.
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Well, I did mention that England have been the more dominant of the two teams and they saw a commanding 63% of the ball during the first half. However, they only managed four attempts on goal, with Slovenia having the same amount of efforts.
Out of those shots that England have had, Sterling should really have scored in the opening minutes, but made a mess of his attempt when through on goal. Rooney then saw a powerful strike well-saved by Handanovic, while other efforts from Sterling and Townsend failed to cause any problems.
We've just heard that England are going to make a change at the start of the second half, with Adam Lallana coming on for Phil Jones.
Slovenia take the kick off for the second half and get the match back underway!
That change for England means that Lallana has gone into the centre of the midfield, with Henderson switching to right back. It's not a position the Liverpool player is used to, but he is always willing to play anywhere on the pitch.
England have started the half on the front foot as they look for a quick equaliser. It does appear that they will be seeing plenty of the ball, with Slovenia happy to sit back and soak up the pressure, before trying to break on the counter.
Despite England's dominance, they have looked shaky at the back and Slovenia cause them problems once again with Novakovic arriving in front of Gibbs at the back post to meet a deep cross. He is only able to get a slight touch in his efforts to divert the ball goalwards and Hart is able to get down to claim the loose ball.
GOAL! Slovenia 1-1 England (Jack Wilshere)
What a stunning way this is to score your first goal for England! Slovenia are only able to clear the ball away to Wilshere, who is standing a few yards outside the box. It it perfectly set up for the Arsenal man to hit and he makes no mistake with a fantastic strike into the top corner and past Handanovic, who did get a slight touch on the ball.
CHANCES! England have their heads up now and Rooney comes close on two occasions to giving them the lead. Firstly, the striker is played through by Sterling, before hammering an effort high over the bar and moments later he is found by Townsend just inside the box, but he can only scoop the ball harmlessly over the top.
SUBSTITUTION: Slovenia are going to make their first change of the match, with Birsa coming on for Ilicic.
It's the England fans who are making all the noise now, as their team keeps up the pressure on the Slovenian defence, The Three Lions are very much in charge now and at this moment in time they look favourites to go on and claim the three points.
The decision to bring on Lallana at half time has proved to be a fine choice by Hodgson, as the midfielder has been involved in many of England's best moves. It was his persistence that led to the equalising goal and he has added some much-needed energy to the attack.
The visitors are still looking for the winner and once again Townsend drives through the midfield, before working a yard of space to shoot. However, he can only drag his strike well wide of the target, as Slovenia survive once more.
SUBSTITUTION: It's another change for the hosts, with Pecnik replacing Kirm.
GOAL! Slovenia 1-2 England (Jack Wilshere)
Wilshere's first goal was stunning, but this one might just be even better! The midfielder picks up a flick from Lallana, before taking a touch and firing a wonderful effort into the top corner that leaves Handanovic with absolutely no chance. He only scored twice for Arsenal all season, but he has grabbed two in less than 15 minutes to leave England in command.
SUBSTITUTION: England are going to make their second change of the match, with Walcott coming on for Townsend.
Slovenia are fortunate not to be down to 10 men, as Cesar appears to catch Rooney with an elbow. The referee did not spot it though, as the defender is surprisingly not even shown a yellow card.
SUBSTITUTION: Final change of the evening for Slovenia, with Lazarevic replacing Kurtic.
As well as scoring both of England's goals, Wilshere has put in an exceptional display in the centre of the midfield. He has taken the match by the scruff of the neck and his quality on the ball has been first class all evening.
GOAL! Slovenia 2-2 England (Nejc Pecnik)
With six minutes of the match left to play Slovenia have drawn level. It's the substitute Nejc who finds the back of the net, as he rises at the back post to head Jokic's cross into the corner and past the reach of Hart.
GOAL! Slovenia 2-3 England (Wayne Rooney)
What an incredible ending to the game, as England retake their lead, with Rooney scoring a record-equaling goal. He has missed a couple a of decent openings, but he makes no mistake to slide a low effort into corner, after the ball had broken through to him kindly. It's his 48th international goal and he has now drawn level with Gary Lineker in the all-time standings.
SUBSTITUTION: I can tell you that among all of the recent action in front of goal, Clyne has come on for England to replace Delph.
There are going to be at least three minutes of stoppage time.
YELLOW CARD! Kampl is shown a late booking for the hosts are hacking down Rooney and then throwing the ball away in his protests.
FULL-TIME: Slovenia 2-3 England
The final whistle blows at the Stozice Stadium and England have held on to claim all three points this evening. Wayne Rooney scored the winning goal just moments after Slovenia had drawn level, to keep the Three Lions firmly on track to qualify for Euro 2016.
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That's all for our coverage this afternoon, but I'll be back shortly to bring you analysis and player ratings from the match, so stayed tuned for that. I hope you enjoy the rest of your weekend. Goodbye!
Written by
Alex Meyers
Alex Meyers
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