Italy, Germany, England Stay Perfect in Euro 2012 Qualifying
England's striker Wayne Rooney
Fabrice Coffrini/AFP/Getty Images
England's striker Wayne Rooney controls the ball.
England's striker Wayne Rooney controls the ball. Photographer: Fabrice Coffrini/AFP/Getty Images
Germany and Italy had five-goal home victories to maintain their perfect starts to qualifying for the 2012 European soccer championship, while England won at Switzerland to keep a 100 percent record.
Miroslav Klose scored two goals as Germany routed Azerbaijan 6-1 in Cologne to move alongside Turkey with six points from two games in Group A. Italy defeated the Faroe Islands 5-0 in Florence for its second win in Group C.
Wayne Rooney, Adam Johnson and Darren Bent scored as England beat 10-man Switzerland 3-1 in Group G. Rooney’s 10th- minute opener was his first international goal in a year and follows U.K. newspaper allegations about his private life.
“Rooney’s goal was important for him and for us,” England coach Fabio Capello said in comments posted on the Football Association’s website. “I am really happy for Rooney’s performance. He was always at the center of the play, the movement. The pressure was strong on him but he played well.”
Xherdan Shaqiri scored for Switzerland, which had Stephan Lichsteiner sent off for a second yellow card in the 65th minute.
Montenegro won 1-0 at Bulgaria to match England with six points in the group.
Swedes Hit Six
Sweden romped past San Marino at home 6-0 and shares the Group E lead with the Netherlands, which defeated Finland 2-1. Ireland beat Andorra 3-1 at home and Slovakia won 1-0 at Russia to remain perfect in Group B.
Stephen McManus’s goal in the seventh minute of stoppage time gave Scotland a 2-1 home win over Liechtenstein. The victory leaves the Scots tied with Lithuania, which won 1-0 at the Czech Republic, atop Group I with four points, one more than world and European champion Spain, which has played a game fewer.
Albania beat Luxembourg 1-0 to tie Belarus, which drew 0-0 with Romania, atop Group D. France won at Bosnia-Herzegovina 2-0 to give Laurent Blanc his first victory as manager.
Croatia and Israel both played 0-0 draws to leave them even in Group F and Norway beat Portugal 1-0 to take the lead in Group H.
The third round of qualifying matches will be played Oct. 8. The nine group winners, along with the second-place team with the most points, qualify for Euro 2012 with hosts Poland and Ukraine. The remaining eight second-place teams will playoff for the final four spots.
World champion Spain lost 4-1 to Argentina in an exhibition game in Buenos Aires, falling to its third defeat in 36 matches since winning Euro 2008.
Lionel Messi, Gonzalo Higuain, Carlos Tevez and Sergio Aguero scored for the host as Spain allowed its most goals since losing to Germany by the same score in 2000.
“We were very unsettled” at the start, Spain coach Vicente del Bosque told reporters. “Defeats are painful but at the same time they can be beneficial.”
To contact the reporter on this story: Bob Bensch in London at bbensch@bloomberg.net.
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