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Rediff.com  » Sports » Euro 2016 qualifiers: England thrash Lithuania

Euro 2016 qualifiers: England thrash Lithuania

March 28, 2015 08:36 IST
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Harry Kane of England, left, is tackled by Arturas Zulpa of Lithuania

Harry Kane of England, left, is tackled by Arturas Zulpa of Lithuania. Photograph: Ian Walton/Getty Images

England's Harry Kane scored on his debut less than two minutes after coming on as they brushed Lithuania aside 4-0 at Wembley on Friday to maintain their grip at the top of the Euro 2016 qualifying Group E standings.

The Tottenham Hotspur striker, who has scored 29 goals in all competitions this season, headed England's fourth in the 73rd minute after replacing skipper Wayne Rooney as England won for the fifth successive match in the competition.

England are six points clear of Slovenia and Switzerland, who also won on Friday and have nine, with Lithuania fourth with six points having won two and lost three of their five matches.

Rooney put England ahead in the sixth minute when he headed home his 47th international goal, taking him to within two of Bobby Charlton's all-time record of 49.

Danny Welbeck scored the second just before halftime when the ball hit his shoulder and deflected in off Lithuania skipper Tadas Kijanskas before Raheem Sterling scored his first goal for England with a simple tap-in after 58 minutes.

Bizarre Ibra header puts Sweden on course for Moldova win

A bizarre headed goal from Zlatan Ibrahimovic put Sweden on the road to a 2-0 victory over Moldova in their Euro 2016 Group G qualifier in Chisinau on Friday, with the striker also netting a late penalty.

Sweden's captain gave his side the lead immediately after halftime when Moldova goalkeeper Ilie Cebanu's attempt to deal with a back pass failed to clear the frontman.

Ibrahimovic reacted with lightning reflexes to head the ball into an empty net from the edge of the penalty area to notch his 52nd goal in 102 international appearances.

Bottom of the group on a single point, Moldova chose to defend deep for most of the game and created little, their occasional forays forward on the counter-attack failing to trouble the Swedish rearguard.

Ibrahimovic almost doubled his tally in the 75th minute, but his thunderous free kick found Cebanu in a less generous mood and he swatted the ball away to safety.

With group leaders Austria winning 5-0 away to Liechtenstein, the result means the Swedes stay in second place on nine points, four behind the Austrians.

Morata goal fires off-colour Spain past Ukraine

Alvaro Morata of Spain battles for the ball against Yevhen Khacheridi of Ukraine

Alvaro Morata of Spain battles for the ball against Yevhen Khacheridi of Ukraine. Photograph: Denis Doyle/Getty Images

Forward Alvaro Morata justified his selection for Spain by scoring his debut international goal in a laboured 1-0 home win for the holders against Ukraine in Euro 2016 qualifying Group C on Friday.

Morata galloped on to a Koke pass in the 28th minute at the Sanchez Pizjuan stadium in Seville and his shot took a slight deflection off a defender before looping over Ukraine goalkeeper Andriy Pyatov into the net.

The victory helped Spain maintain pressure on group leaders Slovakia, who won 3-0 at home to Luxembourg and have 15 points from five matches.

Spain, beaten 2-1 away to Slovakia in October, are second on 12 points, three ahead of Ukraine.

The next match for Spain, unbeaten in 30 competitive home games since they lost 1-0 to Greece in 2003, is a friendly on Tuesday against the Netherlands in Amsterdam, a repeat of the 2010 World Cup final.

Alaba misses penalty, scores as Austria win 5-0

David Alaba atoned for a penalty miss with a superb long-range second-half strike as Austria stayed on course for Euro 2016 with a comfortable 5-0 win away to Liechtenstein on Friday.

Martin Harnik and Marc Janko set the Group G leaders on their way with two goals in the first 16 minutes, quickly burying the hosts' hopes of repeating their shock 1-0 win over Moldova in their last match.

Alaba, Zlatko Junuzovic and Marko Arnautovic completed the win in the second half.

Mario Frick captained Liechtenstein at the 40 as he made his 118th appearance but never looked like adding to his record total of 16 goals.

Austria, whose only Euro finals appearance was in 2008 when they qualified automatically as co-hosts, remained unbeaten and top the group with 13 points from five games.

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Source: REUTERS
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