FIFA WC Qualifiers: Rooney booed in England win, Germany coast through

ByRohan Nagaraj , SportsCafe Editor

10/09/2016

Gareth Southgate marked his first game as England’s interim manager with an easy 2-0 win over Malta in the FIFA World Cup Euro qualifiers at the Wembley on Saturday. Meanwhile, reigning World champions Germany also coasted to an easy 3-0 win over Czech Republic.

First-half goals from Liverpool man Daniel Sturridge and Dele Alli helped the Three Lions make it an easy win at home.However, the man who became the hot topic of conversation was none other than Wayne Rooney. The 30-year old was booed by home fans as he continued to struggle in the midfield. Even against a side as lowly rated as Malta, Rooney failed to impress on the field yesterday. His performance reflected in how the team fared in the match, especially in the second half, when England struggled to add to their first-half score. Malta’s goalkeeper Andrew Hogg was an unsung hero in the game, whose brilliant saves kept the home team from scoring more goals during the game.

In the end, Southgate and England earned the crucial three points which helped the team climb to the top position in Group F. England will take on Slovenia in their third qualifier on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, in a Group C encounter, reigning World champions Germany asserted their dominance as they crushed Czech Republic 3-0 in Hamburg on Saturday. Arsenal midfielder Mesut Ozil started in the playing XI, but it was all about Thomas Muller who stole the show during the match. The Bayern Munich forward scored a brace (13th and 65th minute goals) which helped his team dominate their opponents. Toni Kroos too made his presence felt as he found the net four minutes into the second half.

This was Germany’s second consecutive 3-0 win in the World Cup qualifiers after their similar win over Norway, which ensured Joachim Loew’s side remained on top of Group C with six points in two games. They will now play Northern Ireland in their third Group C qualifier in Hanover on Tuesday.

Other World Cup Qualifiers Results:

Azerbaijan 1-0 Norway

Armenia 0-5 Romania

Montenegro 5-0 Kazakhstan

Northern Ireland 4-0 San Marino

Poland 3-2 Denmark

Scotland 1-1 Lithuania

Slovenia 1-0 Slovakia