ROONEY MATCHES LINEKER AS HE FIRES ENGLAND TO GLORY
FOR once, the highlights package was worth England fans waiting up for, proof that a team coached by Roy Hodgson really can play in the name of entertainment.
Even the ITV Twitter feed was l ost f or words on a night to remember, when Jack Wilshere came of age in an England shirt with two magnificent goals and captain Wayne Rooney scored the 48th of his international career.
Watching England was compelling on this occasion, with the travelling hordes treated to a performance that veered somewhere between bewildering and euphoric.
Last week’s snoozefest — a drab 0-0 draw with the Republic of Ireland in Dublin that prompted ITV to apologise to viewers on Twitter — can hopefully be put down as a bad day at the office. Against Slovenia, it was clear they meant business. England played fast and loose, extending their unbeaten run to the best part of a year in a sequence that includes six successive Euro 2016 qualifying wins.
This one was a belter. The last five minutes, when England conceded an equaliser to make it 2-2 and responded with Rooney’s winner were electrifying.
His celebration, the knee slide t owards England’s ecstatic supporters, brought back heady memories of those steamy nights at Italia 90.
Fitting, then, that the England’s striker’s 48th goal for his country has drawn him level with scoring great Gary Lineker.
In September, when Rooney captains the country in San Marino, you would have to back him to at least draw level with Sir Bobby Charlton’s record of 49.
This was also a night when Wilshere chalked up his first goals for his country with two vicious left-foot strikes from the edge of the area.
‘They weren’t exactly tap-ins,’ admitted Hodgson and he was right, because the delivery of them was worthy of a bigger stage. Wilshere’s contribution to this game, from his deep-lying position i n the centre of midfield, was immense and so were his goals.
His finishes were superb, twice rippling the net of Slovenian keeper Samir Handanovic in the space of 16 second-half minutes.
When Wilshere scored his first, in the 57th minute, it was win-or-bust for Hodgson after the perplexing half-time substitution that changed the face of this game.
Phil Jones will never be an orthodox right-back and there is a chance that his time in this position has come to a close after his catastrophic first-half contribution.
He carelessly directed a throw-in at an opponent and moments later, after Milivoje Novakovic had exchanged passes with t he impressive Josip Ilicic, Slovenia went in front.
It prompted Hodgson to reshuffle the pack at half-time, seemingly in desperation as he attempted to resolve a problem that had left England trailing.
Jordan Henderson was asked whether he would be comfortable at right-back, nodding his head at Hodgson as he prepared to make the audacious changes.
Adam Lallana, who lost his place following a poor performance on the left against Republic of Ireland, was thrust into the position just behind Rooney. He made a telling contribution.
His twisting 57th- minute run bemused Slovenia’s defence, cleverly moving them out of position as Wilshere waited on the edge of the area.
The Arsenal man’s thunderous drive beat Handanovic, heading towards the top left corner of the Slovenia keeper’s net to provide England with the impetus to go again. They did just that.
The move that led to Wilshere’s second was brisk and purposeful, starting with Henderson’s clever wall pass with Andros Townsend down the right, then into Lallana.
He reacted with an improvised back flick, setting the ball free for Wilshere to curl his effort beyond Handanovic with that magic wand of a left foot.
It should have been the winner but England conceded again when substitute Nejc Pecnik rose above Kieran Gibbs in the 84th minute to beat Joe Hart with a towering header.
It prompted fury on the touchline, with Hodgson and assistant Ray Lewington flying out of the dugout to shout a series of instructions to the players. They need not have worried.
After Slovenia captain Bostjan Cesar had been given the benefit of the doubt for appearing to throw an elbow in the side of Rooney’s head, the England striker recovered
to score the third. It was an ice-cool f i nish, r eading Bojan Jokic’s challenge on Theo Walcott and leaving Handanovic stranded with a goal that nestled neatly in the bottom left corner.
This victory protects England’s unbeaten record, a run that stretches back to a 0-0 draw with Costa Rica in the final group game of a disastrous World Cup.
It seems they have finally put Brazil last year to the back of their minds. Instead, their fans are now talking about the quality of goals hitting the back of the net.