London: England striker Jermain Defoe made a scoring return to the international stage and substitute Jamie Vardy added a second goal as the hosts laboured to a 2-0 victory over Lithuania in World Cup qualifying Group F on Sunday.
Defoe, making his first appearance for nearly 3-1/2 years, fired lacklustre England ahead in the 21st minute at Wembley but Gareth Southgate's team struggled to finish off a Lithuania side who are 93 places lower in the FIFA rankings.
England survived a couple of worrying moments and had to wait until the 66th minute to double their lead when Defoe's replacement Vardy finished neatly shortly after coming on.
It was hardly an emphatic performance but the result kept England in charge of Group F with 13 points from five games, five more the Slovenia who visit Scotland later on Sunday.
"It's good to be back," Defoe told ITV Sport. "Just to win the game was important and we did that. It's hard to put in words really to be back. Just to be back playing with the lads felt good."
Defoe has scored 14 goals for bottom club Sunderland in the Premier League this season, but he also owed his recall to injuries suffered by Harry Kane and Daniel Sturridge.
Asked if he hopes to keep his place in the squad for England's next qualifier away to Scotland in June, he replied: "Obviously I've got to go back to my club and make sure we finish the season strong.
"Like I've always done, I'll keep my head down and see what happens."
Victory tightened England's grip on first place in UEFA qualifying Group F, provisionally taking them five points clear of Slovenia ahead of Sunday's late matches.
Comments
0 comment