England 2 Switzerland 0
As Wayne Rooney took the ball in his hands, Wembley lit up with a thousand and one flash bulbs. Everyone, it seemed, wanted a photograph of the moment. His shot was true. The ball flew into the roof of the net and Roy Hodgson was off his seat, striding to the touchline to applaud his captain. "Wembley", the man in charge of the Tannoy announced, "we've just witnessed history."
Rooney’s 50th goal for England had come from the penalty spot just as it had seemed that the night might be shrouded in a little anti-climax and, with one almighty whack of his right boot, a record that had stood for 45 years was added to his international CV.
England, in the process, made sure of winning their qualifying group and though Rooney will inevitably dominate the headlines, it should not be overlooked either that the latest round of international fixtures have had therapeutic effects for another striker who turned up with his early-season form being scrutinised more than he would like.
Harry Kane might not have managed a goal for Tottenham but his chipped shot was the highlight of England's 6-0 defeat of San Marino and starting on the bench, there was another reminder here of his ability inside the penalty area. Kane's left-foot drive opened the scoring midway through the second half and means he has scored three times in his four appearances for England, three of which came as a substitute.
Switzerland were a clear upgrade on England’s other opponents in Group E and though it attracted a ripple of dissent at the time, it was clear why Roy Hodgson had taken off Rooney not even an hour into Saturday’s turkey-shoot in San Marino.
England’s management were prioritising a game that would tell them far more about where they are in the order of European football. The qualifying group has been a cakewalk overall, but it must have been slightly alarming for Hodgson that on one of the few occasions England played a team of reasonable efficiency some of the old flaws resurfaced.
All the while, there was the considerable sub plot involving Rooney’s attempt to overtake Bobby Charlton’s 49-goal mark and the gathering shriek of anticipation every time the ball came near him inside the penalty area. Rooney had an early chance when Gary Cahill’s header came his way from James Milner’s corner. Soon afterwards, England’s captain went for the far post and could not get enough curl on a shot. Then Nathaniel Clyne’s cross was a few inches too high after Rooney had made space eight yards out, and the crowd sighed again.
Instead, the only record that arrived in the opening half concerned Fabian Delph and the latest blow to his first season as a Manchester City player, a setback that is likely to mean him missing several weeks before he can play again.
It is certainly doubtful there has ever been another international football match when a player has pulled a hamstring after nine seconds. Delph’s kit was still pristine white when he left the pitch and only a couple of other players had touched the ball when his arm went up to signal his night was over. The tell-tale sign was Delph’s hand clutching the back of a leg. He has been troubled by hamstring issues all summer and there will inevitably be questions about whether he had warmed up sufficiently, or whether he should have been playing at all.
Ross Barkley replaced him in midfield and in the opening exchanges there was a rounded look to England's 4-3-3 system. Around the half-hour mark, however, carelessness crept into England's play. Chris Smalling's improvement has been vast over the last year but there was a relapse here and by half-time, Switzerland were passing the ball with greater intelligence and incision.
Joe Hart had to dash off his goalline to save at the feet of Xherdan Shaqiri and it was only a marginal offside call that stopped Josip Drmic running clear from a flowing exchange of passes. When Drmic aimed a left-foot shot narrowly wide a few minutes later, the crowd might have reflected it had been a long time since opponents passed the ball this crisply at Wembley.
Hodgson might have expected more from Raheem Sterling on the left side of attack. He was disappointingly on the edge of the match while Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain was more effective on the opposite side, without troubling his opponents too often.
On a more positive note, Clyne and Luke Shaw continue to look like accomplished England full-backs and it was an adventurous substitution from Hodgson to bring on Kane for Jonjo Shelvey before the hour. Rooney then took over in the No10 position, with Kane playing as the front line of attack and James Milner alongside Barkley in an attack-minded midfield.
Shaw’s overlapping run and low cross provided the chance for Kane to fire in the first goal with a low shot but the moment the crowd really wanted arrived after 83 minutes. Sterling was tripped by Granit Xhaka and when the ball hit the net every single England player was running in Rooney’s direction.
(Guardian service)
