Rooney leads England romp as Bulgaria routed sports world

Sofia, Sept 3: A resurgent WayneRooney scored twice as new-look England edged closer to Euro 2012 qualificationwith a comprehensive 3-0 victory over Bulgaria on Friday. Rooney, building on his scintillating early seasonform for Manchester United, struck in the 21st and 45th minutes after Englandhad taken the lead through Bolton defender Gary Cahill at the Vasil LevskiStadium. The victory leaves Fabio Capello's men firmly incontrol at the top of Group G, with only next Tuesday's game against Wales atWembley and a trip to second-placed Montenegro next month remaining. But the defeat spelt the end of Bulgaria's slenderchances of qualification and piles the pressure on German coach LotharMatthaus, whose reign has been marred by reports of player mutinies. England captain John Terry told Sky Sports:"It was a really good night. "We were hoping for a good start andcertainly got that.
"Some of the football we played was the bestfor a long time. We're very pleased with that." Bulgaria, who had been beaten 4-0 by England inthe corresponding fixture at Wembley last year, proved every bit as toothlessas their home record -- zero goals in two previous matches -- suggested. Capello had sprung a surprise in his startingline-up, omitting Frank Lampard for the first time in four years after choosingto partner Scott Parker and Gareth Barry in central midfield ahead of the backfour. England's 4-2-3-1 formation, with Liverpool'sStewart Downing and Arsenal's Theo Walcott either side of Ashley Young behindRooney, proved too much for Bulgaria who were soon buckling under the superiormovement of the visitors. After a scrappy opening, England took the lead on13 minutes through Cahill, preferred at centre-half by Capello despite strongclaims to a debut cap for Manchester United's promising teenager Phil Jones. A corner from Young was cleared only as far asBarry, whose pass picked out Cahill in space leaving the defender free to pokehome beyond advancing Bulgaria goalkeeper Nikolay Mihaylov. After 21 minutes the match was effectively settledas a contest when Rooney punished abysmal marking by the Bulgarian defence tohead home a Downing corner for his 27th international goal. A dismal night for Bulgaria got even worse midwaythrough the half, when sections of the home support subjected England debutantChris Smalling to racist chants as the Manchester United defender receivedtreatment for an injury. It was the first salvo of repeated racist abuse ofEngland players by a small pocket of the home crowd, raising the prospect ofpossible disciplinary action from European football's governing body UEFA. England produced the best possible riposte on thestroke of half-time however when Rooney grabbed his second of the night to makeit 3-0. Parker broke up a Bulgarian attack with a braveheaded block, and the ball fell to Walcott who went on a surging run upfieldbefore releasing Young on the edge of the area. Young then picked out Rooney at the far post forthe simplest of tap-ins to leave England in control, with Bulgaria reduced to acouple of long-range potshots from Bolton's Martin Petrov which failed totrouble Joe Hart. England were equally comfortable after the break,and Downing hit the woodwork on 55 minutes with a header across the face ofgoal after a cross from Walcott.

Ronaldo Drives Portugal To 4-0 Rout Of Cyprus(sportz touch)

Nicosia, Sept 3: Cristiano Ronaldoscored two goals and set up another as Portugal thrashed a 10-man Cyprus side4-0 away to stay top of Euro 2012 qualifying Group H on goal difference. Portugal's first spell of pressure started on 13minutes when the lively Joao Moutinho put Joao Pereira through with a fine passbut the right back's shot was blocked by keeper Antonis Georgallidis. Just as Portugal's menace was starting to wane,Cyprus midfielder Sinisa Dobrasinovic stretched out his arm inside the box todeflect a Moutinho shot, received a second booking and allowed Ronaldo to slotin coolly from the resulting penalty on 35 minutes. Portugal took advantage of the added space inmidfield, with both Moutinho and striker Helder Postiga coming close todoubling their lead with fierce, long-distance efforts just before the break. "We played well in the first half, especiallyuntil we scored. The score could have been bigger in the first 45minutes," Portuguese coach Paulo Bento said. The Cypriots returned with an even more defensiveattitude and Portugal's passing game stalled. They threatened only with afierce shot by Ronaldo on 51 minutes, which the keeper blocked, and a diagonaldrive from Fabio Coentrao that hit the post six minutes later. "After we were reduced to 10 men it was veryhard for us, we had to chase Portugal, ran out of stamina and that's why wecollapsed at the end," Cyprus coach Nikos Nioplias said. The Portuguese left it late to secure the win,with captain Ronaldo sidestepping a defender near the box to create space andfire in his second goal in the 82nd minute. Two minutes later the forward usedhis speed on the left wing and set up substitute Almeida for a simple tap-in. Winger Danny came on to complete the rout bycutting in from the left and driving in the fourth goal in injury time. "The goals at the end brought justice. Therewere times when we did not play well in the second half, but the most importantthing was to improve our goal difference," Bento said. "We go intothe last two qualifying matches in a strong position." Portugal are level on 13 points with Norway, whobeat Iceland 1-0 at home. The Portuguese play Iceland at home and Denmark awayin October.