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England confirmed their place at the top of Group E after a 3-1 win over Slovenia at Wembley.
But it wasn't as easy as it sounded for Roy Hodgson's Three Lions, who struggled to a scoreless 0-0 at half-time before surprisingly falling behind when Jordan Henderson's looping header beat Joe Hart.
But merely 15 seconds after the restart Wayne Rooney, winning his 100th England cap, burst into the box and won a penalty, taking it himself to score his 44th international goal.
If Danny Welbeck's first goal, to give England the lead, was scruffy, his second was was excellent, with Raheem Sterling finding the Arsenal striker with a perfectly weighted pass, Welbeck adding the expert finish.
The 3-1 win leaves Hodgson's team top of Group E with a maximum 12 points.
Who performed for England? Scroll through our gallery...
Show all 11 1 /11England 3 Slovenia 1 - player ratings England 3 Slovenia 1 - player ratings Joe Hart After being almost redundant for the last home game against San Marino and given another quiet night in Estonia, he would have expected a little more work but was barely tested again, except by Henderson’s unstoppable header. Acted as sweeper well whenever he was called into action to do so. 6/10
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England 3 Slovenia 1 - player ratings Nathaniel Clyne Happy to get forward as the full-backs need to when England play with a narrow diamond formation, the young Londoner had an acceptable debut with no obvious errors. Less attack-minded after half-time when Sterling went wider. 6
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England 3 Slovenia 1 - player ratings Phil Jagielka Less solid than his central defensive partner, losing Novakovic to allow him to head a corner wide in one uncomfortable moment and slipping to let in Kampl for another. As one of the players in the side with England goals to his name, the Evertonian produced one good header for the team’s first effort on target. 5
Reuters
England 3 Slovenia 1 - player ratings Gary Cahill The Chelsea man is becoming England’s most dependable defender, further improved by his regular Champions League experience. Upset Novakovic with some of his headed challenges and got a kick for his pains. One lax pass led to Jagielka’s booking. 7
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England 3 Slovenia 1 - player ratings Kieran Gibbs After a first start for four years against San Marino the Arsenal full-back was given another one unexpectedly soon as stand-in for Leighton Baines. He did fine defensively and had a hand in the third goal without offering Baines’s attacking brio. Booked for a stab at Birsa’s Achilles. 6
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England 3 Slovenia 1 - player ratings Jordan Henderson Without a goal in 18 England appearances and would not have wanted to break his duck by scoring at the wrong end. Sitting on the right of the midfield diamond the Liverpool player has been an ever-present in the national side this season without influencing many games. 5
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England 3 Slovenia 1 - player ratings Jack Wilshere Unenviably stationed in the centre circle, the worst area of the pitch, for his 25th cap. Got mud on his shirt early on in giving and taking some hefty challenges before playing some neat forward passes. But then he had a quiet second half. 7
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England 3 Slovenia 1 - player ratings Adam Lallana Not a natural winger, we know, and almost too eager to drift inside. He delivered ome poor free-kicks and corners which failed to clear the first defender until he put one on Rooney’s head in the second half and the Liverpool man did then help to force Welbeck’s first goal with his own shot. 5
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England 3 Slovenia 1 - player ratings Raheem Sterling Not too tired to play this time, although as he discovered against the defensive San Marino he found the middle congested and took until the second half to move wide much more often, when he looked more dangerous. Set up Welbeck nicely for the third goal. Booked. 6
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England 3 Slovenia 1 - player ratings Danny Welbeck Put in a poor performance in Estonia last month and having a mixed season for Arsenal, which was reflected here early on. Brought Rooney or Clyne into the game well enough and he worked hard to be rewarded with his two goals later on. 7
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England 3 Slovenia 1 - player ratings Wayne Rooney Having received his golden 100th cap from Sir Bobby Charlton, the captain won the penalty cleverly by wriggling through defenders and then converted it with a thump for his fourth goal in the last five England games. Played almost up alongside Welbeck throughout the match and linked well with him in setting up chances for each other. 8
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