Wayne Rooney scored on a penalty kick in his 100th international appearance, and England went on to defeat visiting Slovenia, 3-1, in a Euro 2016 Group E qualifying match in London on Saturday.
Rooney, the team’s captain, scored from the penalty spot in the 59th minute after he was fouled by the Slovene captain Bostjan Cesar. Rooney’s goal came two minutes after Slovenia took the lead when Milivoje Novakovic’s free kick was headed in for an own goal by Jordan Henderson.
Danny Welbeck scored for England in the 66th and 72nd minutes. England is unbeaten in four matches in Group E.
In other Euro 2016 qualifying games, Isco’s goal helped Spain ease to a 3-0 home victory over Belarus in Group C; the substitute Rubin Okotie scored to give Austria a 1-0 win over Russia in Vienna in Group G; last-place San Marino earned its first point in Group E by playing a scoreless tie with visiting Estonia; Ukraine beat host Luxembourg, 3-0, in Group C; and visiting Liechtenstein defeated Moldova, 1-0, in Group G.
KLINSMANN SUPPORTS COACH After drawing criticism on one side of the Atlantic Ocean with his comments about American players, the coach of the United States men’s national team, Jurgen Klinsmann, weighed in with comments about one of his former clubs, Tottenham Hotspur of England’s Premier League.
Klinsmann, whose team lost to Colombia, 2-1, in a friendly match in London on Friday, urged Tottenham to give Manager Mauricio Pochettino time to instill his philosophy.
Klinsmann pointed to Arsenal and Manchester United, which reaped the rewards of giving Managers Arsène Wenger and Alex Ferguson time in the job.
Klinsmann, who starred for Spurs in the 1990s, told the BBC, “You look at the big clubs around the world, not just in Europe, the clubs that stick to a certain way, they give the coaches time to develop things the way they want it, and they build consistency.”
Pochettino, who is from Argentina, has come under increased scrutiny in recent weeks after a series of lackluster Spurs performances.
NO SHOES, NO GAME An English club apologized to fans when its game had to be postponed because some equipment could not be recovered after an explosion and fire in its hotel.
Lincoln City’s game at Eastleigh in the Conference, the fifth tier of English soccer, was called off after the players could not get their cleats and shin pads.
In a statement, Eastleigh said 55 firefighters were needed to respond to the fire, which was believed to have started in the hotel’s sauna.
THREE QUALIFY IN AFRICA South Africa qualified for the Africa Cup of Nations with a 2-1 win over Sudan in the team’s first game since the killing of the captain Senzo Meyiwa.
Cameroon and Zambia also secured places in the finals early next year, bringing the number qualifiers to six alongside the new tournament host, Equatorial Guinea, which replaced Morocco last week.
Ghana lost, 1-0, in Uganda, and Mali fell, 2-0, in Malawi, keeping their chances of qualifying uncertain until the final round of qualifying games next week.
South African players wore black armbands, and there was a moment of silence before the game for Meyiwa, the goalkeeper who was fatally shot in an attempted robbery in a township near Johannesburg last month. (AP)
TWO COACHES ARE OUT Greece dropped Claudio Ranieri as coach of the national team after its embarrassing 1-0 loss to the Faroe Islands, and Dick Advocaat resigned as Serbia’s coach after the team’s 3-1 defeat against Denmark.
Both losses came in qualifying matches for Euro 2016 on Friday. (NYT)
TWO LEAVE ITALY CAMP Mario Balotelli and Angelo Ogbonna withdrew from the Italian team ahead of games against Croatia and Albania.
Balotelli, a striker for Liverpool, had been called up for the first time under Coach Antonio Conte, despite his poor form, but Balotelli strained his lower back and adductor muscles. Ogbonna has a left hamstring injury.
Italy will host Croatia in a Euro 2016 qualifier on Sunday. Italy and Croatia are tied for the lead in Group H with 9 points. Italy will play Albania in a friendly in Genoa on Tuesday.