Spain, Germany, England find scoring form

By Steve Douglas

Associated Press

Published: Friday, Oct. 12 2012 3:05 p.m. MDT

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England's captain Wayne Rooney, second left, celebrates his second goal with Aaron Lennon, left, and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, third left, during their World Cup Group H qualifying soccer match against San Marino at Wembley Stadium in London, Friday Oct. 12, 2012.

Tom Hevezi, Associated Press

Summary

Spain, Germany and England recorded big victories on Friday as Europe's top teams found their scoring form in World Cup qualifying.

LONDON — Spain, Germany and England recorded big victories on Friday as Europe's top teams found their scoring form in World Cup qualifying.

Pedro Rodriguez scored a hat trick in Spain's 4-0 win at Belarus and Marco Reus and Toni Kroos grabbed braces as Germany thrashed Ireland 6-1, also away from home.

England's 5-0 win over a San Marino team that is joint bottom of the FIFA rankings was routine, with Wayne Rooney scoring twice in his first competitive international as captain, while Italy beat Armenia 3-1 away and the Netherlands was a comfortable 3-0 winner over Andorra.

However, Euro 2012 semifinalist Portugal, led by Cristiano Ronaldo, couldn't make the most of its dominance against Russia and lost 1-0 in a match between the top two teams in Group F.

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