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Hosted by South Africa
England: Round of 16
How England performed
England's qualification for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa was emphatic: nine wins from ten Group 6 fixtures, with 34 goals scored and six conceded. Rooney scored nine times, Walcott struck a hat-trick in a 4–1 win in Croatia, and the return fixture against Croatia ended in a 5–1 victory. The only defeat came in the penultimate qualifier, a 1–0 loss in Ukraine.
The finals were a harder test for Fabio Capello's side, captained by Steven Gerrard. Gerrard scored in the fourth minute of the opener against the United States, which finished 1–1, and a goalless draw with Algeria followed. Defoe's goal earned a 1–0 win over Slovenia to take England into the round of 16, where they lost 4–1 to Germany, Upson scoring their goal. England finished with one win, two draws and a defeat from four matches, scoring three and conceding five, a step back from the quarter-final finish of 2006.
England fixtures
Andorra
0–2
England
England won
England: J. Cole 49', J. Cole 55'
Andorra: None
Croatia
1–4
England
England won
England: Walcott 26', Walcott 59', Rooney 63', Walcott 82'
Croatia: Mandžukić 78'
England
5–1
Kazakhstan
England won
England: Ferdinand 52', Kuchma 64' og, Rooney 76', Rooney 86', Defoe 90'
Kazakhstan: Kukeyev 68'
Belarus
1–3
England
England won
England: Gerrard 11', Rooney 50', Rooney 74'
Belarus: Sitko 28'
England
2–1
Ukraine
England won
England: Crouch 29', Terry 85'
Ukraine: Shevchenko 74'
Kazakhstan
0–4
England
England won
England: Barry 40', Heskey 45+1', Rooney 72', Lampard 77' pen
Kazakhstan: None
England
6–0
Andorra
England won
England: Rooney 4', Lampard 29', Rooney 39', Defoe 73', Defoe 76', Crouch 81'
Andorra: None
England
5–1
Croatia
England won
England: Lampard 7' pen, Gerrard 18', Lampard 59', Gerrard 67', Rooney 77'
Croatia: Eduardo 71'
Ukraine
1–0
England
England lost
England: None
Ukraine: Nazarenko 29'
England
3–0
Belarus
England won
England: Crouch 4', Wright-Phillips 60', Crouch 76'
Belarus: None
England
1–1
United States
England drew
England: Gerrard 4'
United States: Dempsey 40'
England
0–0
Algeria
England drew
Slovenia
0–1
England
England won
England: Defoe 23'
Slovenia: None
Germany
4–1
England
England lost
England: Upson 37'
Germany: Klose 20', Podolski 32', Müller 67', Müller 70'
England statistics
Full England squad
| No. | Player | Pos | Club | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | David James | GK | Portsmouth | – |
| 2 | Glen Johnson | DF | Liverpool | – |
| 3 | Ashley Cole | DF | Chelsea | – |
| 4 | Steven Gerrard C | MF | Liverpool | 4 |
| 5 | Michael Dawson | DF | Tottenham Hotspur | – |
| 6 | John Terry | DF | Chelsea | 1 |
| 7 | Aaron Lennon | MF | Tottenham Hotspur | – |
| 8 | Frank Lampard | MF | Chelsea | 4 |
| 9 | Peter Crouch | FW | Tottenham Hotspur | 4 |
| 10 | Wayne Rooney | FW | Manchester United | 9 |
| 11 | Joe Cole | MF | Chelsea | 2 |
| 12 | Robert Green | GK | West Ham United | – |
| 13 | Stephen Warnock | DF | Aston Villa | – |
| 14 | Gareth Barry | MF | Manchester City | 1 |
| 15 | Matthew Upson | DF | West Ham United | 1 |
| 16 | James Milner | MF | Aston Villa | – |
| 17 | Shaun Wright-Phillips | MF | Manchester City | 1 |
| 18 | Jamie Carragher | DF | Liverpool | – |
| 19 | Jermain Defoe | FW | Tottenham Hotspur | 4 |
| 20 | Ledley King | DF | Tottenham Hotspur | – |
| 21 | Emile Heskey | FW | Aston Villa | 1 |
| 22 | Michael Carrick | MF | Manchester United | – |
| 23 | Joe Hart | GK | Birmingham City | – |
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