World Cup Qualifiers: Rooney Double, Ronaldo and Portugal Held Again

Another round of World Cup Qualifiers were played today, with more surprising results from South America and, for the most part, status quo in Europe.

UEFA
Belarus 1-3 England
Capello had Steven Gerrard starting on the left, which although against his wishes, did yield the opening goal. Stevie G pounced on the ball from 30 yards out, after some handy work by Wayne Rooney. Gerrard scores these types of goals more than most players in the world, and he will be less likely to produce a wonder-strike stuck out on the left. He was hampered after his goal and only began to produce effectively when he started to roam the pitch more often. Lampard and Barry are good in holding position, but if Gerrard is to settle on the wing, he must be allowed freedom.

Belarus would even things up before Rooney redirected a low Emile Heskey cross. Heskey showed a rare piece of skill, deking the defender and sending it to a poorly marked Rooney. Rooney would later get on to a nice Gerrard lead pass, before crossing up the defender with a couple of neat dribbles and putting it near post. Gerrard missed a chance to make it 4-1 with a shot that clanged off the post.

With Rooney at this level, finishing and working as hard as he always does, England is a legitimate World Cup contender. But the streaky forward cannot offer any assurances come summer of 2010. I believe this is why Capello must start slotting Crouch in the Heskey role. He is a good target man, and can set up much better than he is given credit for. Plus, if Rooney goes cold, Crouchie's strike rate has been good for England. Fabio will have to the spring now to comfortably sit back and watch how his players develop over the season.

Spain and The Netherlands joined England as the only squads with perfect marks so far, as they beat Belgium and Norway, respectively, away from home. The only real surprise was Portugal, failing to win at home against Albania, with a 0-0 draw. The Portuguese have now failed to score in two straight games. Apparently having a small army of talented wingers and no world class strikers is hampering them. Who knew? Here's my rank of the top five in Europe right now.

1. Spain
2. Germany
3. Netherlands
4. England
5. Italy