MX23RW : Monday, November 4 17:13:39| >> :600:359105:359105:
[monks data]
England national football team
World Cup | Qualifiers
Oct 11, 2013 at 8pm UK
 
Montenegro national football team

4-1

Rooney (48'), Boskovic (62' og.), Townsend (78'), Sturridge (90' pen.)
FT(HT: 0-0)

Debut Andros Townsend goal secures England win

Debutante Andros Townsend is among the scorers as England beat Montenegro 4-1 at Wembley to move back to the top of World Cup qualification Group H.

Andros Townsend has scored on his England debut to secure Roy Hodgson's side a 4-1 victory over Montenegro, which sees them return to the top of their World Cup qualification group.

Ukraine had displaced the Three Lions in first place of Pool H courtesy of their 1-0 triumph over Poland earlier tonight, but England are now just one win away from Brazil 2014 thanks to success at Wembley.

Dejan Damjanovic had brought Montenegro back into the game at 2-1, after Wayne Rooney and an own goal gave the hosts a two-goal cushion, which Townsend restored in the latter stages before Daniel Sturridge completed the scoring from the penalty spot.

England were attacking throughout much of the first period, but were mainly limited to shots from range as Steven Gerrard twice forced Montenegro goalkeeper Vukasin Poleksic into smart low stops.

Rooney came the closest to breaking the deadlock before the interval, but he could not squeeze the ball in at the near post from six yards after Townsend's powerful drive was parried.

The Manchester United forward did get himself on the scoresheet minutes after the break when he bundled in another rebound, after good work from Townsend and Danny Welbeck, who was also involved in England's second.

He chased after a clever flick on from Sturridge before squaring back towards his teammate, only for Branko Boskovic to intercept by diverting the ball past Poleksic and into the bottom corner.

Montenegro almost pulled one back immediately when Manchester City striker Stefan Jovetic struck the crossbar from 30 yards, and the visitors did reduce the deficit shortly afterwards.

Damjanovic showed good predatory instincts to poke out a foot to guide a mis-hit shot beyond Joe Hart, but any England nerves were ended when Townsend capped his man-of-the-match display with a goal.

The Tottenham Hotspur winger cut inside from the right before dribbling past two Montenegro defenders and shooting in off the post, and there was still time to Sturridge to increase the margin of victory.

The in-form Liverpool forward won the spot kick himself after showing some clever footwork on the byline, and then stepped up to send Poleksic the wrong way from 12 yards.

England now need to better the result of Ukraine, who play San Marino on Tuesday, when they host Poland at Wembley, on the same night, to guarantee World Cup qualification.

ID:110614: cacheID:110614:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:4469:No Data Analysis info
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Wayne Rooney of England scores the first goal past Vukasin Poleksic of Montenegro during the FIFA 2014 World Cup Qualifying Group H match between England and Montenegro at Wembley Stadium on October 11, 2013
Read Next:
Live Commentary: England 4-1 Montenegro - as it happened
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS

Group A

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Netherlands Netherlands32107
Q Senegal flag Senegal32016
3 Ecuador flag Ecuador31114
4 Qatar Qatar30030

Group B

TeamPWDLPTS
Q England flag England32107
Q United States USA31205
3 Iran Iran31023
4 Wales flag Wales30121

Group C

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Argentina Argentina32016
Q Poland Poland31114
3 Mexico Mexico31114
4 Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia31023

Group D

TeamPWDLPTS
Q France France32016
Q Australia Australia32016
3 Tunisia Tunisia31114
4 Denmark Denmark30121

Group E

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Japan Japan32016
Q Spain Spain31114
3 Germany Germany31114
4 Costa Rica flag Costa Rica31023

Group F

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Morocco Morocco32107
Q Croatia Croatia31205
3 Belgium Belgium31114
4 Canada Canada30030

Group G

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Brazil Brazil32016
Q Switzerland Switzerland32016
3 Cameroon flag Cameroon31114
4 Serbia Serbia30121

Group H

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Portugal Portugal32016
Q Republic of Korea South Korea31114
3 Uruguay flag Uruguay31114
4 Ghana flag Ghana31023


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!