Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/567101
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 6 SEPTEMBER 2015 Sport 51 FOOTBALL SPORTTODAY Wayne Rooney equals record as England cruise to 6-0 victory over San Marino Wayne Rooney's penalty brought him level on 49 goals with Bobby Charlton as England beat San Marino 6-0 ROONEY looked set to pass Charlton's record when he scored his 49th England goal from the penalty spot in the 12th minute. But in a bizarre move, Hodg- son took Rooney off in the 58th minute, therefore robbing him of a chance to bring up his 50 in the 6-0 win. Cristian Brolli scored an own goal and Ross Barkley headed in his first England goal before Theo Walcott grabbed a couple off the bench and Harry Kane netted to seal the win. After an embarrassingly early World Cup exit, Hodgson has done incredibly well to make it to Euro 2016 with three matches to spare. After seven wins from seven, the Three Lions are the first team to qualify, and have gone 12 matches unbeaten for the first time since 1996. But the main talking point from the game will be Hodgson's deci- sion to take Rooney off with the record so close. The 29-year-old will now have to wait until Tuesday's home game against Switzerland to bring up his half-century. Rooney hardly made the best of starts. The forward dropped deep to pick up a pass off Jamie Vardy, but his attempted backheel did not find the intended recipient. That all changed for the skipper in the 12th minute, though. While jostling for position in the box, the referee spotted a push by Marco Berardi on Rooney in the box as James Milner swung over a free-kick. The Cypriot official pointed to the spot, which caused consterna- tion among the San Marino play- ers. They surrounded the referee, but he stood by his decision and also showed a yellow card to Be- rardi. The England captain chuckled to himself and almost apologeti- cally placed the ball on the spot before tucking the ball away. The England fans chanted Roon- ey's name as he looked to the sky, with both arms aloft before turn- ing to wave at his wife Coleen and eldest son Kai, who had made the trip to the Stadio Olimpico in Ser- ravalle to watch. England toiled for a while. The recently relaid pitch had started cutting up after just a few minutes and the ball did not roll smoothly at all. As expected, the Sammarinese were making England it hard for England to attack. They lined up with five at the back, but when- ever England had the ball, their formation turned to 7-2-1. England found a second goal, but again there was a touch of fortune about it. Luke Shaw drove the ball towards the box after mak- ing a run down the left and Brolli turned the ball into his own net. Aldo Simoncini denied England a third just before the break by tipping over Alex Oxlade-Cham- berlain's shot. But 15 seconds after the restart Barkley nodded in the Arsenal winger's cross to make it 3-0. Ten minutes later Joe Hart made his first contribution, saving a looping deflected shot. Boos were heard as Hodgson swapped Rooney for Kane with 32 minutes left. Walcott added a fourth by con- verting a cross from fellow sub- stitute Fabian Delph and Kane chipped the goalkeeper to make it 5-0. Walcott then rounded off the route with a calm finish. Wayne Rooney celebrates his goal Euro 2016 - Qualifiers Luxembourg - FYR Macedonia ........... 1-0 Ukraine - Belarus .............................. 3-1 Estonia - Lithuania............................ 1-0 San Marino - England ....................... 0-6 Russia - Sweden .............................. 1-0 Football Results Ibrahimovic received offers from MLS and China - Raiola Though AC Milan were linked with a move for the Swede all summer, Raiola has revealed that his client also received interesting offers that would have seen him land overseas MINO Raiola, agent of Paris Saint Germain's Zlatan Ibrahimovic, has revealed that his client received offers to move to MLS and China, along with noted interest from AC Milan. The 33-year-old remained with the Ligue 1 club despite rumours linking him with an exit from the club during the summer transfer window. While Milan were the biggest side to show interest in the Swede, Raiola has admitted that his client received several interesting offers to move overseas. "He received an important offer from MLS, along with another of- fer from China," he told ajansspor. com "However everything was decided before he went on holidays." Raiola touched on the Rosson- eri's interest once again, days after defending his client from what was seen as disrespectful comments to- wards the Italian club. "The interest from Milan was real," he said. "In the days leading up to August 31, they asked me to keep them in- formed should Ibrahimovic decide to leave Paris." Ibrahimovic and PSG currently find themselves first in Ligue 1 with a perfect record after four matches. Zlatan Ibrahimovic