Victories for England and Germany
JERMAIN Defoe adorned his international comeback with a goal as England toiled to a 2-0 victory over Lithuania in a forgettable World Cup qualifier at Wembley last night .
Defoe, 34, was making his first England appearance since November 2013, having been recalled by manager Gareth Southgate, and he marked his return with the opening goal midway through the second half.
Substitute Jamie Vardy added a second goal as England tightened their grip on first place in Uefa qualifying Group F in Southgate’s first home game as permanent manager.
His side are now the last team in European qualifying yet to have conceded a goal.
Defoe’s strike, the Sunderland veteran’s 20th in 56 caps, was an obvious high point, and second-half substitute Marcus Rashford delivered an impressive cameo.
Defoe’s penalty-box cunning was one of the reasons Southgate picked him over Vardy, and he vindicated his manager’s call by putting England ahead in the 22nd minute.
Vardy took just seven minutes in the second half to find the net, steering a shot between Ernestas Setkus and his left-hand post.
Meanwhile, Germany leaked their first goal since July, but still extended their perfect record in World Cup qualifiers to five straight wins following last night’s 4-1 victory away to Azerbaijan, with Andre Schuerrle scoring twice.
First-half goals by Schuerrle, Thomas Mueller and Mario Gomez put the world champions 3-1 up at the break, although Azerbaijan midfielder Dimitrij Nazarov, who plays in Germany, had netted an early equaliser to the delight of the home crowd.
It was the first goal Germany had conceded following seven previous clean sheets -- a national team record – dating back to their 2-0 defeat in Marseille against France in the semifinals of Euro 2016.
However, Schuerrle added a late second goal to reward the faith shown in him by head coach Joachim Loew, despite a series of below-par displays for Borussia Dortmund.
The away win means Germany stay top of Group C with five wins from five, scoring 20 goals and having now conceded just once. – AFP