Wayne Rooney scored twice Saturday to help England overcome a shaky performance and beat Kazakhstan 5-1 in World Cup qualifying.
England endured a frustrating first half in coach Fabio Capello's first competitive match at Wembley and almost fell behind at the start of the second before Rio Ferdinand, who was captain in place of injured John Terry, headed in a 52nd-minute corner.
England vs. Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan defender Alexandr Kuchma, under pressure from Rooney, headed into his own net in the 63rd before a bad pass by Ashley Cole allowed Zhambyl Kukeyev to make it 2-1.
But Rooney added two late goals and substitute Jermain Defoe got one in the 90th as Kazakhstan tired on the large Wembley pitch.
Although the performance was far below the 4-1 win at Croatia last month, England still has maximum points from its first three qualifying matches ahead of Wednesday's game at Belarus.
"We knew we had to be patient," said Rooney, who now has five goals in his last four games for club and country. "We know we can play better but the result was the most important today to keep putting the points on the board."
Ferdinand was unhappy that England fans jeered Cole after his blunder.
"It's disappointing," he said. "When any player makes a mistake all you want to do is get behind him and gee him up and make sure with his next touch that he gets his confidence back and plays himself back into the game.
"It doesn't help when the fans are booing one of their own players. Hopefully the people have gone and may feel a bit ashamed of themselves."
