England defeat Switzerland in Basel
England won their second European championship qualifier in Basel on Tusday night, defeating Switzerland 3–1 after a strong performance away from home.
Fabio Capello's side arrived in Switzerland on the back of a resounding 4–0 victory over Bulgaria at Wembley on Friday.
With Michael Dawson out injured, Capello opted to play Everton's Phil Jagielka and Manchester City's Joleon Lescott at the centre of defence, while Wayne Rooney, subject to intense speculation in the press over the last few days, was also selected to start.
Rooney gave England the lead
Rooney took only 10 minutes to convince Capello he had made the right decision, as the Manchester United striker converted right-back Glen Johnson's cross from close range after Jermain Defoe dummied the Swiss defence.
The opening goal did not come without a price, though, as winger Theo Walcott had to be replaced by Manchester City's Adam Johnson after the Arsenal winger sustained what seemed to be a serious injury in the build-up.
The game's next opportunity fell to Tottenham's in-form striker Defoe after 23 minutes. Adam Johnson dribbled his way down the right flank and sent a cross flying across goal, but Defoe failed to capitalize.
The striker tried his luck again in the 43rd minute, this time from outside the box, but his belted strike flew straight at Diego Benaglio in Switzerland's goal.
Adam Johnson continued his fine display before the break as he initiated a play that saw Rooney cross toward Defoe, who failed to jump higher than his marker to head the ball goalwards.
Rooney and Adam Johnson combined again three minutes after the break, but Johnson's left-footed volley from Rooney's cross only found the side-netting.
Swiss defender Stephan Lichtsteiner was at the centre of attention on 66 minutes when he brought down James Milner. It was a tough challenge that earned Lichtsteiner a second yellow card, and the Swiss were down to ten men.
Adam Johnson gets his goal
Adam Johnson finally found the net in the 69th minute after captain Steven Gerrard played a perfectly timed through ball to the winger, who latched on to the ball, rounded Benaglio and slotted into the empty net with his left foot.
But Switzerland sent shivers down the English spines only two minutes later, when Xherdan Shaqiri thumped a swerving, left-footed strike into keeper Joe Hart's left corner for his first international goal.
The game calmed down a little after Switzerland's goal, but England could not breathe easy until substitute Darren Bent got the team's third goal in the 89th minute.
Ashley Cole played a simple ball for Bent to enter the Swiss penalty box, and the striker made no mistake as he smacked a low finish inside the left post. It was his first international goal.
The England team will be able to avoid criticism after two solid displays in the qualifiers. At the moment, they look certain to travel to Poland and Ukraine in 2012.
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