Defoe hat-trick gives England winning start
England 4 Bulgaria 0 (Wembley Euro qualifier 3 September 2010)
England began their Euro 2012 qualifying campaign by battering Bulgaria 4-0 thanks to a hat-trick from Jermain Defoe. Rooney found Ashley Cole in the box who managed to pull the ball back for Defoe to hook into the back of the net in the 3rd minute of a first half which the hosts dominated without troubling Mikhailov again in the Bulgarian goal. But 5 minutes into the 2nd half Rooney tested Mikhailov with a chip from outside the area and when Joe Hart palmed away an Angelov effort in the 61st minute, England broke away which resulted in Rooney delivering the ball for Defoe to tuck away between the legs of the keeper. Hart stretched out an arm to deny Bulgaria in a one-on-one situation with Rangelov in the 65th minute and Mikhailov kept out a shot from Gerrard in the 76th minute, but in the 83rd minute Adam Johnson fired the ball in from inside the box beating Mikhailov at his near post and 3 minutes later Rooney linked up with Defoe who swept the ball past Mikhailov for his hat-trick. England will face the Swiss in their next match on Tuesday.
Home Page