More On :  England
HOW THEY QUALIFIED

  GROUP G
 GP W  D  L  GD PTS
1 England (Q)       8 5 3 0 12 18
2 Montenegro 8 3 3 2 0 12
3 Switzerland 8 3 2 3 2 11
4 Wales 8 3 0 5 -4 9
5 Bulgaria           8 1 2 5 -10 5


RESULTS TOP SCORERS
Sep 3, 2010: England 4-0 Bulgaria
Sep 7, 2010: Switzerland 1-3 England
Oct 12, 2010: England 0-0 Montenegro
Mar 26, 2011: Wales 0-2 England
Jun 4, 2011: England 2-2 Switzerland
Sep 2, 2011: Bulgaria 0-3 England
Sep 6, 2011: England 1-0 Wales
Oct 7, 2011: Montenegro 2-2 England		 3 - Darren Bent, Jermain Defoe, Wayne Rooney, Ashley Young
2 - Adam Johnson,
Frank Lampard
1 - Gary Cahill

An impressive start to the campaign, which included a Jermain Defoe hat-trick against Bulgaria, saw England top Group G after two matches, but hopes of running away with qualification were dented with disappointing draws at home to Montenegro and Switzerland.

However, following a comfortable win in Bulgaria and a narrow victory over Wales, the Three Lions booked their place at Euro 2012 by securing a point - albeit after taking a two-goal lead - in their final group game away to Montenegro, with qualification marred somewhat by Wayne Rooney’s second-half dismissal.

PAST RECORD IN THE EUROS 

1960
 Did not enter
 1988
 Group stage
1964
 Did not qualify
 1992
 Group stage
1968
 Third place
 1996
 Semi-finalists
1972
 Did not qualify 2000
 Group stage
1976
 Did not qualify 2004
 Quarter-finalists
1980
 Group stage 2008
 Did not qualify
1984
 Did not qualify 2012
 Qualified as group winners

England’s most notable appearance in the European Championships in recent years saw them reach the semi-finals on home soil in 1996, but Gareth Southgate failed to convert his decisive spot-kick as Terry Venables’ men lost out on penalties to Germany.

The Three Lions went on to suffer more heartache from the spot at the hands of Romania in their final group stage match at Euro 2000, before penalties again proved to be England’s downfall four years later, bowing out to Portugal in the quarter-final. In their last campaign, manager Steve McClaren lost his job after failing to secure qualification for Euro 2008.

THE MANAGER | ROY HODGSON


Brought in as the last-minute replacement for Fabio Capello, Hodgson is the first England boss to have any previous experience of international management, having enjoyed success with Switzerland as part of a long and prolific coaching career.

Having spent much of his time abroad it is only in the last few years that he has returned home to the Premier League, where he took Fulham to an unlikely Europa League final in 2010 and has since overseen some progress with West Brom - though a disastrous spell at Liverpool in-between scared some supporters off.

Hodgson knows how to extract more than the sum of an average team’s parts with disciplined training and will have to do the same with England - fast.

THE CAPTAIN | STEVEN GERRARD


The Liverpool skipper has been handed the armband by Hodgson, despite enduring a season ravaged by injury.

Gerrard has not captained England since September 2010, where he led Capello's men to a 3-1 victory over Switzerland in a Euro 2012 qualifier.

Tottenham midfielder Scott Parker was handed the armband by caretaker boss Stuart Peace in England's 3-2 friendly defeat against the Netherlands in February after John Terry was stripped of the captaincy by the Football Association earlier that month.

"I know him [Gerrard] of course, as a player, I know him as a person," said Hodgson. "I shall be counting on him, of course, to help me as much as he possibly can to build the type of team unity and the type of environment that I think's going to be very necessary for us to thrive in an important tournament."

THE STAR PLAYER | WAYNE ROONEY


The Manchester United star bounced back from his poor performances at the 2010 World Cup to become the first name on the team sheet for Capello during the qualifying campaign for Euro 2012. The striker, who has failed to score a goal at a major tournament since he broke on to the international stage at Euro 2004, netted three times in seven matches in qualification.

Despite Rooney missing the first two group-stage games in Poland and Ukraine after being handed a suspension for a petulant kick on Montenegro's Miodrag Dzudovic, he still looks set to play a key role at his fourth tournament for his country.

THE EMERGING TALENT | DANNY WELBECK


Having returned from last season’s loan spell at Sunderland, 21-year-old Welbeck has earned his place as Wayne Rooney’s chief partner in crime at Manchester United, a fact that will not be lost on England boss Roy Hodgson.

The striker’s determination and endeavour, married to a swift turn of pace and natural finishing ability, have seen him overtake Dimitar Berbatov and Chicharito in the Old Trafford pecking order and pick up a small handful of international caps.

With many of his rivals struggling for form or fitness, Welbeck’s 12 goals this season and his understanding with Rooney make him a sure pick for the tournament and one of the Three Lions’ most dangerous young cubs.

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Top Scorers
Player Goals Penalties
Ashley Young Ashley Young
Midfielder
England 		2 0
Steven Gerrard Steven Gerrard
Midfielder
England 		1 0
Jermain Defoe Jermain Defoe
Striker
England 		1 0
Gary Cahill Gary Cahill
Defender
England 		1 0
Danny Welbeck Danny Welbeck
Striker
England 		1 0