England recorded a fine 3-1 away to Switzerland in European Championship qualifying action on Tuesday evening, thanks to goals from Wayne Rooney, Adam Johnson and Darren Bent.
After Switzerland had been reduced to 10 men and Johnson had added to Rooney’s opener, the hosts gave themselves hope through Xherdan Shaqiri's spectacular effort.
However, substitute Darren Bent‘s late strike sealed the win for England.
Under-the-spotlight Rooney broke the deadlock after 10 minutes, side-footing home after Theo Walcott’s pass had allowed Glen Johnson to provide a low cross, which bypassed both Walcott and Jermain Defoe on the way to the Manchester United striker.
Delight turned to concern for England, though, as Walcott was withdrawn with an ankle injury.
Jermain Defoe, having struck at hat-trick against Bulgaria on Friday, was poor in front of goal as England looked to turn the screw, before the Tottenham man was denied by Stephane Grichting’s clearance just prior to half-time.
With England still on top, the Swiss had Stephan Lichtsteiner sent-off after 64 minutes for a second booking.
Five minutes later, Johnson struck the visitors’ second goal of the night, scoring after beating goalkeeper Diego Benaglio following a Steven Gerrard pass.
Shaqiri shocked England with a powerful strike from distance, which found the top corner, a couple of minutes after Johnson’s goal.
England, however, refused to relinquish control, and Bent, who had replaced Defoe, wrapped up the victory with a strong finish late on - his first senior goal for England.