Wayne Rooney was labelled "goal-shy" by some sections of the English press during the week but the United striker found the goal twice as England won 5-1 against Kazakhstan at Wembley. Rooney wasn't the only United player on target, either. Rio Ferdinand broke the deadlock on 52 minutes after an unconvincing first half that saw the Three Lions booed into the break. Wayne played a big part in pressuring his marker to allow an own goal 12 minutes later, before getting on the score sheet himself with a neat header from Wes Brown's cross. His second, a goal from close-range, arrived just moments before he was substituted.
John O'Shea and Darron Gibson were both on field throughout Republic of Ireland's 1-0 win over Cyprus. Liverpool's Robbie Keane scored the crucial goal at Croke Park. In the same group, Dimitar Berbatov captained Bulgaria to a 0-0 draw to Georgia. Nemanja Vidic enjoyed the same result as his English colleagues, 3-1 against Austria.
Cristiano Ronaldo had a frustrating night, however, as Portugal tied 0-0 at home by Albania. He ran Carlos Queiroz's side from start to finish and was joined on the field from the 55th minute by substitute Nani.
Elsewhere, Edwin van der Sar kept his second shutout in two games as Holland secured a 1-0 victory in Norway, thanks to Mark van Bommel's second half goal. Anderson was an unused substitute in Brazil's goalless draw against Colombia in Rio de Janeiro, and Patrice Evra also found himself on the bench for the duration of France's 3-1 friendly win over Tunisia in Paris.
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