Highlights: England 3 Slovenia 1 & Spain 3 Belarus 0

After an uninspiring first half, Slovenia’s opener early in the second looked set to make it a miserable evening for Roy Hodgson at Wembley. But a Wayne Rooney penalty followed by Danny Welbeck’s brace helped secure a 3-1 win. 

Much like the World Cup group stages were hailed as a triumph, the European Qualifiers have proven surprisingly entertaining with the new format seeming to invigorate mid-ranking sides enlivened by the prospect of qualification. But while England appeared immune to the fun on offer in Brazil, they’ve also avoided any of the subsequent drama this season.

Germany, Spain, Netherlands and Portugal have all suffered defeats in Euro 2016 qualifying. Meanwhile, England’s 3-1 win over Slovenia makes it four wins from four in Group E. It may not have been exhilarating but it only requires a cursory glance at the results around Europe to appreciate that the Three Lions are faring better than most so far this season. 

Until they registered their unexpected three goals in just 13 thrilling minutes — with Danny Welbeck claiming two to take his tally to five in this qualifying campaign — this was certainly not the event that Rooney would have imagined and dreamt of and craved for as he was presented with that cap by Charlton prior to kick-off.

Jack Wilshere later said England were becoming horrible to beat. For a while they were simply horrible.

It appeared it would be all about England running out of ideas, looking flat and listless and showing precious few signs of progressing from their World Cup disappointment. Plus a deserved shoeing for the Football Association for chasing the dollar — quite literally — in allowing those American Football teams, the Dallas Cowboys and the Jacksonville Jaguars, with their huge, hulking players to run riot over the Wembley turf. So much for a sacred surface.

There were dark patches and scars all over the turf which, evidently, also cut up although not as roughly as England manager Roy Hodgson had feared.

Isco scored a sublime goal as Spain stayed three points behind leaders Slovakia in Group C of Euro 2016 qualifying with victory over Belarus.

The Real Madrid midfielder opened the scoring when he curled the ball home from 18 yards in the 18th minute.

Barcelona's Sergio Busquets drove in the second from outside the area almost straight from the restart.

And club-mate Pedro completed the scoring when he smashed a shot high into the net from inside the box.

Match Preview: Belgium vs Wales

• Venue: King Baudouin Stadium, Brussels
 

• Date: Sunday, 16 November
 

• Kick-off: 17:00 GMT
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• Wales are looking to continue their solid start to their Euro 2016 qualifying campaign when they travel to face Belgium on Sunday. Wales are currently top of their Euro 2016 qualifying group, with two wins and a draw from their three matches.
The trip to Brussels, however, will be their sternest test yet as they take on a Belgian team which reached the quarter-finals of the 2014 World Cup. 
However, Belgium do have a game in hand after their match against Israel was postponed. Chris Coleman's team have won two and drawn one of their three qualifying matches so far, giving them a one point advantage over Israel. 
Real Madrid star Gareth Bale will be available for selection for Coleman for their Group B encounter after recovering from an injury that had kept him sidelined at the start of the month.
Arsenal's Aaron Ramsey and Liverpool's Joe Allen are also ready to feature again for Wales after missing their last two qualifying matches against Bosnia-Herzegovina and Cyprus.
Charlton Athletic striker Simon Church is expected to continue to lead the line for Coleman's side at the Koning Boudewijn Stadion, while Andy King is out of the clash due to suspension.

Belgium will be without skipper Vincent Kompany for the Group B clash as he has been ruled out with a calf injury.
Southampton defender Toby Alderweireld is expected to replace Kompany at the back, having played in the role against Iceland in his side's friendly clash in midweek.
Marc Wilmots could face a selection dilemma with his striker as Romelu Lukaku and Christian Benteke are both pushing for the start. If both players feature in the starting lineup, it would force Wilmots to change his formation from midweek.
The two sides met in World Cup qualifying for the 2014 tournament. Belgium won the game in Wales 2-0, with goals from Vincent Kompany and Jan Vertonghen. The match in Belgium ended 1-1, with Aaron Ramsey’s late goal cancelling out Kevin De Bruyne’s opener.
PAST THREE MEETINGS…
Belgium 1 (De Bruyne) Wales 1 (Ramsey), World Cup qualifying, October 2013
Wales 0 Belgium 2 (Kompany, Vertonghen), World Cup qualifying, September 2012
Belgium 3 (Staelens, Claessens, Wilmots) Wales 2 (Pembridge, Giggs), World Cup qualifying, October 1997






STATS…
Belgium have not lost at home to Wales, winning three and drawing two
Wales have not beaten Belgium since 1993, a 2-0 win in Cardiff
When Belgium beat Wales 2-0 in 1992, both current bosses were on the bench. Chris Coleman was an unused substitute while Marc Wilmots came on as a late substitute
Wilmots did not lose a match against Wales as a player, winning three and drawing one
Belgium’s FIFA World Ranking: 4
Wales’ FIFA World Ranking: 34

Match Report & Highlights: Portugal 1-0 Armenia & Germany 4, Gibraltar 0.

Cristiano Ronaldo became the European Championship's all-time leading scorer when he grabbed the winner in the Euro 2016 qualifying victory over Armenia. 

The Real Madrid forward scored his 23rd goal in European qualifiers and finals when he scrambled home in the 71st minute after Portugal had struggled.

That took him past Denmark's Jon Dahl Tomasson and Turkey's Hakan Sukur, both of whom scored 22.

Portugal moved into second in Group I with six points from three games.

Apart from his goal, world player of the year Ronaldo had a poor game, highlighted when he fired three free-kicks into the Armenia wall.

Armenia had chances, with Borussia Dortmund's Henrikh Mkhitaryan forcing Rui Patricio into a great save in the 14th minute.

Midfielder Kamo Hovhannisyan also tested the Portugal goalkeeper in the opening half-hour.

Former Chelsea full-back Jose Bosingwa, 32, made his Portugal return after a four-year absence, while another ex-Blues player, 36-year-old Ricardo Carvalho, also started.

Germany 4 Gibraltar 0

Germany manager Joachim Low was critical of his side despite a comfortable win over minnows Gibraltar.

The 4-0 victory lifted the world champions, who had lost and drawn their previous two games, from third to second place, level on points with Scotland and the Republic of Ireland.

Low said: "I am everything but satisfied with this. The team did not do what we wanted to do.

"We wanted to play as world champions and four goals are too few."

Thomas Muller scored twice before Mario Gotze and a Yogan Santos own goal sealed a comfortable win in Nuremberg. 

Former Portsmouth midfielder Liam Walker went close for the visitors with a dipping shot from 35 yards.

Gibraltar, Uefa's newest member nation, have lost all four qualifiers and conceded 21 goals without scoring but coach Allen Bula was delighted with his team.

He said: "It's a great result and we really needed something like this - 0-4, I could not have asked for more."

Euro 2016 qualifier: England vs Slovenia match preview

England play host to Slovenia on Saturday evening looking to maintain their 100% record in qualifying for Euro 2016. The Three Lions have already seen off Switzerland, San Marino and Estonia, as this summer's poor World Cup showing slowly begins to fade out of memory.

Wayne Rooney is expected to become only the ninth man to represent England 100 times as the Three Lions host Slovenia at Wembley.

The 29-year-old captain also has the chance to push towards becoming the nation’s leading goalscorer; his current tally of 43 has him fourth on this list, but he needs only one goal to move joint third with Jimmy Greaves. 

Standing in their way are second-placed Slovenia, who could erase the three-point lead England are currently enjoying over the rest of the group with a win. The visitors started their qualifying campaign with a loss to Estonia, but won both fixtures in October, including a late win over Switzerland. 

The victory over Estonia last time out is a game best remembered for Raheem Sterling's omission from the starting lineup due to complaints of fatigue, although the Liverpool winger is in line to start for the Three Lions at Wembley this weekend.Roy Hodgson will retain the 4-3-1-2 formation that he has used in recent matches, with Raheem Sterling in behind two strikers.

Roy Hodgson could hand a first cap to West Bromwich Albion's Saido Berahino, with the striker taking the Premier League by storm this season en route to becoming the top-scoring Englishman in the division, although he may have to wait until next weekend's friendly clash against Scotland at Celtic Park.Likewise, Nathaniel Clyne and the returning Stewart Downing may not feature against Slovenia, with the latter back in the senior set-up for the first time since 2012. The Dragons come into this game  boosted by the return of Sinia Andjelkovic, who has spent the last 18 months on the sidelines, while Miral Samardzic also returns to the travelling party.

England will be without midfielders Michael Carrick and Andros Townsend, meanwhile, both of whom have withdrawn from the squad through injury. These two sides have met on one occasion previously, back in the 2010 World Cup finals when Fabio Capello's England ran out 1-0 winners in the group stage of the showpiece event.

Past Two Meetings…

Slovenia 0 England 1 (Defoe), World Cup Finals, June 2010

England 2 (Lampard, Defoe) Slovenia 1 (Ljubijankic), Friendly, September 2009

Stats…

England’s current FIFA World Ranking (20) is their lowest since June 1996 (24)

England are one of only three teams (also Croatia and Iceland) yet to concede in Euro 2016 quals

35-year-old Milivoje Novakovič is Slovenia’s player to watch, having scored all three of their goals

Dalibor Stevanović has been booked in all three group games so far

A win would be England’s fifth in a row, their longest streak since 2008 (September – November)

A clean sheet would be England’s sixth in a row, best streak since 2006 (June – October)

Source: The Independent, SportsMole, WhoScored

Match Preview: Germany vs Gibraltar

After defeat in Poland and a draw at home to Republic of Ireland, Joachim Low's men will be hoping to get back to their best against the newest Uefa entrant. Germany's underwhelming start to their Euro 2016 qualifying campaign should receive a boost when the world champions face Gibraltar on Friday. Germany have been nursing a World Cup hangover since their triumph in Brazil in July and are third in Group D with four points from three games after a less than stellar start.

Poland and Ireland helped themselves to seven apiece, and Germany will be eyeing a similar tally, though the usual calls to avoid complacency have been made by the home side.

The stark disparity in quality between the two squads is evident, with four among the German ranks - Toni Kroos, Mario Gotze, Muller and Manuel Neuer - shortlisted for the Ballon d'Or last month.

But while those players may see this as just another game on the world stage, for Jonas Hector it could be a landmark occasion.

The Cologne full-back will be hoping to win his first cap, but the 24-year-old admits he struggled to believe it when he was given word of the call-up by boss Peter Stoger.

"I wanted to be sure that the coach wasn't messing with me," he told DFB.de. "I came back from the training ground and when I got to reception, I saw that I had a voicemail. I then tried to ring the coach back, but I didn't have any luck.

"But eventually we got through and we spoke for a short time. It all came as a surprise to me. I would never have thought that I would have had the chance to be in the squad so quickly."

The Germans are missing a string of key players, including captain Bastian Schweinsteiger, winger Marco Reus and attacking midfielder Julian Draxler. But even without them the four-time World Cup winners should have no problems against Gibraltar, who are competing in their maiden qualifying tournament.

For Gibraltar Ryan Casciaro has not been called up to the squad, so Aaron Payas may start here.Jordan Perez could come in between the sticks after missing the 3-0 defeat to Georgia. Other than that, Allen Bula may not feel the need to make wholesale changes.

Germany also face European champions Spain in a friendly on Nov. 18 in Vigo.

Gibraltar, a British overseas territory which borders the southern tip of Spain, was accepted as a UEFA member after a 14-year battle during which it faced fierce opposition from Spain. The team played their first international in September.

With a tiny pool of amateur players to choose from, Gibraltar would be happy with a low-scoring defeat.

Allen Bula`s players have had a harsh introduction to the qualifiers having conceded 17 goals in three games and scored none.

Source : Goal.com , Sky Sports, Zee news

Highlights: Poland 2 Germany 0 & France vs Portugal 2-1

Poland 2 Germany 0

France vs Portugal 2-1   

Euro 2016 Qualification: Netherlands 3 Kazhakhstan 1 & Belgium 6 Andorra 0

Belgium 6 Andorra 0

Netherlands 3 Kazhakhstan 1 

Euro 2016 Qualification: England vs San Marino 5-0 & Slovakia vs Spain 2-1

England vs San Marino 5-0

Slovakia vs Spain 2-1