• Euro 2012 qualifiers

England triumph against 10-man Switzerland

Adam Johnson was outstanding for England

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Wayne Rooney put his personal problems to one side just as he promised and fired England on their way to a 3-1 Euro 2012 qualifying win over 10-man Switzerland.

Substitutes Adam Johnson and Darren Bent also found the net after Stephen Lichtsteiner had been sent off, to ensure Xherdan Shaqiri's thunderbolt was of no real value. But Rooney will hog the headlines, just as he has done since Sunday, when allegations over his private life were first made.

The Manchester United star had reassured manager Fabio Capello he would be fully focused on the match, so the Italian started with the 24-year-old up front. And, just as ordered, after 12 months and 11 games without a goal for his country, Rooney was in the right place to apply the neat finish to Glen Johnson's cut-back to hand England the lead.

Rooney's celebration was not extensive, especially as Theo Walcott lay injured. But inside there must have been a sense of relief and justification at his decision to remain with the Three Lions when it had been claimed by some that he should have gone back to the north-west.

Injured skipper Rio Ferdinand hailed the effort of "my boy'' and, if Jermain Defoe had been similarly accurate, England would have wrapped up their second straight Group G win before half-time. As it was, by the time Rooney departed with 11 minutes left, Capello's side were still not safe - victory only assured when Bent fired home his first England goal two minutes from time.

If there was something vaguely predictable that Rooney should choose this night to end his long goal drought, the sight of Defoe wasting a couple of belting opportunities before the break was a total surprise. Defoe, hat-trick hero against Bulgaria at Wembley on Friday, first failed to control a looping Steven Gerrard cross when Switzerland had played a diabolical offside trap that left the Tottenham man totally on his own inside the area. Then a smart piece of skill from Johnson took him to the by-line. The cut-back was precise. Inexplicably, Defoe failed to make a decent connection and bounced his effort over.

The loss of Walcott with a turned ankle sustained in an accidental collision with Steve von Bergen as Rooney was hitting the net will bring a groan from Arsene Wenger. But for Adam Johnson it was the opening he has been craving. One of six City players to finish the game, the winger whistled a long-range effort over and was a menacing presence for the Switzerland defence every time he collected possession.

Following the dismissal of Lichtsteiner for chopping down James Milner, Johnson skipped round goalkeeper Benaglio to slot home a second, following a wonderful pass by Steven Gerrard.

Shaqiri shook England out of their comfort zone momentarily with a 30-yard thunderbolt but, after Shaun Wright-Phillips had failed to provide Bent with a tap-in, the Sunderland man finally got his long-awaited England goal when he drove home at the death.

Elsewhere, Republic of Ireland were made to work harder than expected against Andorra at the Aviva Stadium, eventually triumphing 3-1 to record their second victory of the campaign. Kevin Kilbane wrote his name into the history books with Ireland's first goal at their new home, but after Kevin Doyle doubled the lead Andorra surprisingly pulled one back through Christian Martinez on the stroke of half time. Robbie Keane settled the nerves 10 minutes after the interval, and that was enough to clinch the three points.

Scotland's qualifying campaign came within seconds of embarrassment before Stephen McManus saved Craig Levein's men seven minutes into injury time against Liechtenstein at Hampden Park. Mario Frick shocked the home side 60 seconds into the second period, but Kenny Miller found an equaliser just after the hour mark. Time ticked way past the full time marker as Scotland ploughed forward, and eventually McManus rose to head home a vital winner in a 2-1 victory.

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