At this rate, it cannot be long before someone in the camp suddenly announces that England are looking good to win Euro 2016. Let’s hope they can continue to operate with a measure of restraint and remember, for instance, the opponents in their latest victory are sandwiched between Congo and Cameroon at 48th in Fifa’s world rankings. Yet this is now six straight wins in qualifying and, after trailing at half-time and defending far too generously, there was something striking about the way Roy Hodgson’s team maintained their run.
They certainly showed competitive courage during a second half in which Jack Wilshere scored his first international goals with a pair of beautifully delivered left-foot finishes from outside the penalty area and, on the balance of play, there can be no doubt the late winner from Wayne Rooney was thoroughly deserved.
Rooney is now level with Gary Lineker on 48 England goals, one short of Sir Bobby Charlton’s scoring record, and had so many chances he could probably have reached his target in one game. At times he seemed to be suffering the same problem that Lineker experienced in 1992, when chances that would ordinarily be taken are rushed and the frame of the goal suddenly appears to have shrunk by a few inches. Yet he took his goal with the kind of composure that had been hitherto missing and it would be a surprise now if the record does not follow in the inevitable goalfest against San Marino in September. That will also be the night England effectively confirm their place in next year’s tournament, with three games to spare – if, that is, anyone is still labouring under the belief this qualifying group was ever going to be anything but a formality.
Rooney celebrated in a way that suggested the record might have started playing on his mind but the lingering memory will be Wilshere’s goals and it was a wonderful London-bus kind of way for the midfielder to remind us there is great power in that left foot as well as refinement. His second goal in particular was a beauty, but the first one was not too shabby either. Wilshere picked out the same top corner both times and, at 2-1, England were in so much control they ought to have spared themselves the late drama.
The downside was the defending of a team that contrived to let Milivoje Novakovic open the scoring eight minutes before half-time with virtually Slovenia’s first noteworthy attack. Novakovic earns his living in Japan with Nagoya Grampus, the 10th club of a 17-year career. He turned 36 last month and it must have been startling for Hodgson to see a player of that age breaking free from the England defence to run clear.
Josip Ilicic’s pass had split the entire England backline, yet the problems started earlier with Phil Jones giving the ball to an opponent straight from a throw-in. As the Slovenians advanced, Gary Cahill tried to play offside and Chris Smalling let Novakovic go. England’s high defensive line was asking for trouble and Slovenia’s No11 steadied himself, then rolled his shot past the advancing Joe Hart and just inside the post.
If nothing else, that type of defending should at least be a reality check at the end of a week when Hart had been talking about whether he could get through the entire qualifying programme without a single opposition player scoring past him. It was a collection of individual mistakes and the most maddening part for Hodgson was that England had started the game looking comfortably the better team, passing the ball crisply and threatening in attack.
The nature of Slovenia’s second goal should also worry him, coming from a left-wing cross and the substitute Nejc Pecnik getting above Kieran Gibbs to head in an 85th-minute equaliser. Yet there was more good than bad for England ultimately, even if it was a close-run thing sometimes. Raheem Sterling’s end product was occasionally erratic but he did pick up some menacing positions and played with much more confidence than has been seen recently. Fabian Delph played with enough energy to justify his selection ahead of James Milner.
Jordan Henderson was impressive both in midfield during the first half and then when he switched to right-back after the interval. Adam Lallana, a half-time substitute for the injured Jones, also made a positive contribution, including the clever little flick for Wilshere to blast in his second goal. Hodgson had made a shrewd call by switching to a 4-1-4-1 system at half-time, with Delph pushing further forward and Wilshere orchestrating play from a deeper role.
The Stozice could never be described as one of Europe’s more intimidating stadia, with its modern stands and the posters for Bob Dylan’s date here in a couple of weeks. Yet the bare-chested ultras behind one goal, bobbing up and down to the beat of their drum, made a decent racket and the volume was cranked up a few more notches when Pecnik headed in the equaliser.
Rooney had endured a difficult night until that point but he eventually found some accuracy with his shooting. He also did well not to seek vengeance after being the recipient of an elbow to the face from Bostjan Cesar a few minutes earlier and that, again, demonstrated why he now wears the captain’s armband. The ball came to him with a measure of good fortune after Bojan Jokic’s challenge on the substitute Theo Walcott and Rooney picked out the bottom corner.
