World Cup qualification results: Europe. Montenegro 1-1 England and other matches

England gave away their advantage in the second half, drawing their crunch World Cup qualifying game 1-1 in Podgorica.

Talismanic forward Wayne Rooney got England off to a flying start by scoring a close-range header from Gerrard’s delivery in the sixth minute of the game. All in all, England completely dominated the first half of the game and should have extended their lead, but England’s attackers were not clinical enough in front of goal. There was a controversy as England were denied claims by Welbeck for a penalty in the 42nd minute of the game.

Montenegro pulled together and managed to turn the game on its head after the break, as they changed formation to 4-3-3. They completely outplayed England in the second half, by launching attack after attack, and substitute Dejan Damjanovic has deservedly scored the equalizer in the 75th minute.

Although England fans will be understandably disappointed with the final score, the draw probably was a fair result for a close-fought match. The result means the balance of power remained unchanged in Group H, with Montenegro topping the table with 14 points from six games and second-placed England trailing the leaders by two points. Despite the draw England have decent chances of reaching the direct qualification to the 2014 World Cup, as Montenegro are set to visit the Foggy Albion in October.

Group A:

Serbia 2-0 Scotland
Belgium 1-0 Macedonia
Wales 1-2 Croatia

Group B:

Armenia 0-3 Czech Republic
Denmark 1-1 Bulgaria
Malta 0-2 Italy

Group C:

Germany 4-1 Kazakhstan
Republic of Ireland 2-2 Austria

Group D:

Estonia 2-0 Andorra
Turkey 1-1 Hungary
Netherlands 4-0 Romania

Group E:

N/A

Gropu F:

Azerbaijan 0-2 Portugal
Northern Ireland 0-2 Israel

Group G:

Liechtenstein 1-1 Latvia
Slovakia 1-1 Lithuania
Bosnia-Herzegovina 3-1 Greece

Group H:

Ukraine 2-1 Moldova
Poland 5-0 San Marino

Group I:

France 0-1 Spain