England swept back to the top of their Euro 2012 qualifying group when they outclassed Wales 2-0 at the Millennium Stadium on Saturday after early goals from Frank Lampard and Darren Bent killed the game as a contest. Lampard put a new-look 4-3-3 England ahead with a seventh minute penalty and Bent doubled the lead in the 15th minute as the 100th international between the two old rivals went England's way for the 65th time.
"I decided (on that formation) after watching the games Wales played," England coach Fabio Capello told Sky Sports. "There were new positions for Rooney and Ashley Young - when we were defending they stayed wide. The formation is really good but I don't know if the next game I'll play the same style - it depends on the opponent."
The defeat in Wales manager Gary Speed's first competitive match in charge all but ended any lingering hopes Wales had of reaching next year's finals in Ukraine and Poland as they have now lost all four of their qualifiers. England top Group G with 10 points from four matches, the same as Montenegro who have an inferior goal difference. Switzerland and Bulgaria, who were also playing on Saturday, started the day with three points each with Wales bottom.