Rooney four goals away from overtaking Charlton's record
SCOTLAND 1
(Andrew Robertson 84)
ENGLAND 3
(Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain 32, Wayne Rooney 47, 85)
Step by step, he is closing in on the record.
Two more goals from Wayne Rooney, both superbly-taken efforts, have put the Manchester United man in touching distance of England's all-time leading goalscorer record.
Rooney now has 46 strikes to his name and has left Jimmy Greaves behind in fourth place.
Three more and he'll surpass Gary Lineker. Another four and he'll nose ahead of Sir Bobby Charlton.
Rooney has been criticised for his contribution to the cause of late, but there was nothing wrong with his output against Scotland.
He, like his teammates, was focused, determined and professional in the most testing of environments.
England, at the home of their oldest enemy, played like the bigger team and crushed the Scots slowly in front of their own partisan fans.
This fixture has always been a tense one, but there was an added emotional edge this year. The doomed bid for independence two months ago still rankles with many Scots.
Over 45 per cent of them voted to be rid of the English and perhaps it would have been more had it not been for an impassioned pledge for reform by the leaders of the three major political parties.
Thus far, there have been no reforms. Inside the Celtic Park Stadium and on the streets outside, the police were on high alert.
The atmosphere before the game was electric. The Scottish supporters jeered the British national anthem, wanting no part of the union. The English responded in kind, booing the bagpipe-led rendition of "Flower of Scotland''.
As the English players gathered in a huddle, the catcalls reached a crescendo. There was a narrative at play here.
The millionaire stars of the Premier League out of their comfort zone forced up against the hungry, determined underdogs who might not match them in wages or in talent, but would fight their way to parity with studs and elbows.
But it didn't turn out like that in the end.
ENGLAND DOMINATED
England controlled the game from the start, switching quickly from a 4-4-2 to a more fluid 4-5-1 with Rooney at the tip, supported by Danny Welbeck on the left flank.
There are reasons to criticise Roy Hodgson's management of the team, but his players are not to be found wanting for effort.
They snapped into the Scots from the start, pressing them intensely in their own half, preventing them from finding any rhythm.
Manager Gordon Strachan admitted afterwards that his players were "spooked'' by a team they had expected to go through the motions. Scotland simply never got going.
England took the lead on 32 minutes when Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain was allowed to ghost in behind Grant Hanley and nod home Jack Wilshere's delicately lofted ball.
Scotland returned after the break with more fire in their bellies.
Charlie Mulgrew smashed a forearm across Oxlade-Chamberlain's throat, bringing the crowd to their feet. That was the Scotland they had expected.
England scored from the resultant free-kick, Rooney snapping a powerful header into the back of the net when the ball broke free.
With a two-goal cushion, England shut the game down with all the effectiveness of a Jose Mourinho side.
A fightback seemed to be on in the 84th minute when Andy Robertson pulled a goal back and brought the crowd back to life, but England snuffed it out almost instantly and again, it was Rooney with the finish.
He marked the goal with an unorthodox somersault, the sort of thing a middle-aged dad would do on a bouncy castle.
The half century is getting closer.
On this evidence, it's only a matter of staying fit now. When Rooney plays like this, full of energy and yet composed enough to ration his resources, he can do anything.
He is not in the class of Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo and never has been, but those players usually come around once in a lifetime.
By any reasonable standard, he has been one of the best English players in a generation.
But this night wasn't all about Rooney. Hodgson will take quiet satisfaction from the knowledge that England prevailed in a hostile environment when few expected them to succeed, let alone to do so in such style.
There is a theory that his team are growing up together.
On the evidence of this, there might be something in it.
"Records and milestones are important. It must be nice for him to think he’ll see his name at the top of the list, and a record number of caps is in his sight too. He must keep his fitness, but he won’t be the first one to retire from football."
- England manager Roy Hodgson backing Wayne Rooney to rewrite the England history books
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