Football: Haaland hits five to ease Man City into Champions League quarters

MANCHESTER -- Erling Haaland equaled a Champions League record with a five-goal haul to ease Manchester City into the quarter-finals at RB Leipzig's expense with a 7-0 win on Tuesday. 

Haaland also set a new club record for goals in a season of 39 in the process as Pep Guardiola's men reached the last eight for the sixth consecutive season with an 8-1 aggregate victory.

"My super strength is scoring goals," said Haaland. "A lot of it is being quick in the mind and trying to put it where the goalkeeper is not."

Abu Dhabi-owned City are yet to go all the way in the Champions League, but they have never had a striker of Haaland's quality to make the difference in the latter stages before.

At just 22 he now has 33 goals in 25 appearances in Europe's premier club competition.

"Firstly, I'm proud to play in this competition, I love it," added Haaland. "Five goals! To win 7-0 is amazing."

The snowy weather was more akin to Haaland's homeland, but City did not freeze under the pressure and kept their Champions League dreams alive.

The tie was delicately balanced after a 1-1 draw in eastern Germany three weeks ago, but a Leipzig side depleted by injury never looked like a match for their star-studded opponents.

"That was an incredible performance," said Leipzig coach Marco Rose.

"They didn't allow us to control the game at all, at no stage of the game. The bottom line is disappointing for us but they really deserved it."

Guardiola had kept Kevin De Bruyne in reserve for City's 1-0 win at Crystal Palace in the Premier League at the weekend and on his return to the starting line-up, the Belgian was back to his best.

Ilkay Gundogan should have opened the scoring after just three minutes from De Bruyne's inviting cross.

There was some fortune surrounding City's opener as VAR spotted a handball against Benjamin Henrichs that led to a penalty that neither the City players nor the crowd even noticed.

- Denied record chance -

Haaland fired low to Janis Blaswich's left to maintain his perfect record from the spot for City with his sixth penalty of the season.

Two minutes later it was 2-0 as Haaland teed up De Bruyne, who smashed a shot against the bar, and then showed his speed and strength to power home a header from the rebound.

Haaland had three before half-time as Ruben Dias rose highest to head Jack Grealish's corner onto the post and Amadou Haidara's attempted clearance ricocheted off City's number nine into the net.

Gundogan's classy finish into the far corner four minutes into the second half rubbed more salt into Leipzig's wounds before Haaland started rewriting the record books.

Firstly, he hammered home at the second attempt after Blaswich parried his initial header to match Tommy Johnson's record of 38 goals for City in the 1928-29 season.

Haaland set a new mark with still three months of the campaign to go when he snaffled up another rebound after Blaswich saved from Manuel Akanji.

In the process, he moved level with Lionel Messi and Luiz Adriano's record of scoring five goals in a Champions League game.

But Guardiola denied his star striker the chance of another record as he replaced him with Julian Alvarez with 25 minutes remaining.

"If he achieves all these milestones at 22 his life would be boring," joked Guardiola on making the change.

Instead, it was left to De Bruyne to have the final say as he curled a superb strike into the top corner in stoppage time.

Agence France-Presse

Football: UEFA formally postpones Champions League, Europa League finals

BERN - This season's Champions League, Europa League and women's Champions League finals scheduled for May have been formally postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic, European soccer's governing body UEFA said on Tuesday.

All three competitions are currently suspended along with almost every European domestic league because of the coronavirus while UEFA last week postponed the Euro 2020 tournament until next year.

"No decision has been taken on rearranged dates," UEFA said in a statement. It also did not say whether it would be able to complete the competitions in the current format or would have to shorten them.

The Champions League was halted halfway through the return legs of the round of 16 with four ties still to be decided. The final was due to take place in Istanbul on May 30.

Some media reports have suggested ties could be reduced to one leg instead of two from the quarter-finals with a "final four" tournament in Istanbul.

In the Europa League, two of the round of 16 first leg matches have still to be played and all of the second legs. The final was due to be held in Gdansk, Poland, on May 27.

The women's Champions League final was scheduled for Vienna on May 24. 

(Writing by Brian Homewood; Editing by Ken Ferris)

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Football: Italian Serie-A matches postponed over coronavirus fears

Five Italian Serie-A weekend matches including Sunday's clash between Juventus and Inter Milan have been postponed due to the coronavirus, the Italian football league said Saturday.

Other matches called off were AC Milan v Genoa, Parma v SPAL, Sassuolo v Brescia and Udinese v Fiorentina, the league said in a statement Saturday.


The matches had been scheduled to be played behind closed doors.

Italy is the country hardest hit by the virus outbreak, with 650 cases and 17 deaths -- mostly in cities in the north.

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UEFA: Man City banned from European competition for 2 seasons

MANCHESTER, England - English champions Manchester City have been banned from European competition for the next two seasons and fined 30 million euros by European soccer's governing body UEFA after an investigation into alleged breaches of Financial Fair Play (FFP) rules.

UEFA announced in a statement that City had committed "serious breaches" of the rules while the Premier League club swiftly said on their website that they will appeal the decision to the Lausanne-based Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

The ruling, if upheld, would mean Pep Guardiola's side would not be able to compete in the 2020-21 Champions League should they again qualify for Europe's top club competition. They would also be banned from European competition in the 2021-22 season.

The top four teams in the Premier League qualify for the Champions League and City are currently second -- should the ban stand then the fifth-placed team would take their spot.

An absence from Europe would have a significant impact on the club's revenue and their prestige. Liverpool earned 111 million euros from UEFA for winning last season's competition.

The Premier League said in March that it had opened its own investigation into City and FFP after UEFA began its probe.

UEFA's FFP rules are designed to prevent clubs receiving unlimited amounts of money through inflated sponsorship deals with organisations related to the owners.

The Adjudicatory Chamber of UEFA's Club Financial Control Body (CFCB) said City had broken the rules by "overstating its sponsorship revenue in its accounts and in the break-even information submitted to UEFA between 2012 and 2016" and added that the club "failed to cooperate in the investigation".

But City, who have denied any wrongdoing, said in a strongly worded response that they will fight the decision.

"Simply put, this is a case initiated by UEFA, prosecuted by UEFA and judged by UEFA. With this prejudicial process now over, the Club will pursue an impartial judgment as quickly as possible and will therefore, in the first instance, commence proceedings with the Court of Arbitration for Sport at the earliest opportunity," the club said.

INVESTIGATION PROCESS

Describing themselves as "disappointed but not surprised" by the decision, City took aim at the investigation process.

"In December 2018, the UEFA Chief Investigator publicly previewed the outcome and sanction he intended to be delivered to Manchester City, before any investigation had even begun.

"The subsequent flawed and consistently leaked UEFA process he oversaw has meant that there was little doubt in the result that he would deliver. The Club has formally complained to the UEFA Disciplinary body, a complaint which was validated by a CAS ruling."

City face Real Madrid later this month in the last 16 of this season's Champions League as Guardiola tries to secure a trophy that the club have never won.

Spanish La Liga head Javier Tebas welcomed the punishment.

"UEFA are finally taking decisive measures. Enforcing financial fair play rules and punishing financial doping is essential for the future of football. We've been asking for severe action against Manchester City and Paris Saint Germain for years. Better late than never," tweeted Tebas.

In March 2019, PSG won a legal battle against UEFA after the governing body tried to reopen its investigation into the French club's spending on transfer fees and wages.

UEFA opened an investigation into Manchester City that month after the publication of 'Football Leaks' documents led to allegations that the club’s Abu Dhabi owners had inflated sponsorship agreements to comply with FFP requirements.

Reuters reported extensively on City and FFP issues arising from the Football Leaks documents in The Soccer Files series.

The Abu Dhabi United Group, the investment vehicle owned by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, is the majority owner of the City Football Group, with a stake of around 77%.

The City Football Group includes the Manchester club and owns or part-owns New York City FC, Melbourne City FC, Yokohama F. Marinos in Japan, Club Atletico Torque in Uruguay, Girona FC in Spain and Sichuan Jiuniu FC in China.

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Football: England thrash Bulgaria after game halted over racist abuse

SOFIA - England bounced back from their first tournament qualifying defeat for 10 years with a 6-0 thrashing of toothless Bulgaria on Monday in a Euro 2020 Group A clash marred by racist incidents in the first half that stopped the game.

The match at the Vasil Levski stadium was temporarily halted by the referee in the first half under a three-step UEFA protocol to tackle racist abuse from the crowd.

Racist chanting was heard from the stands and reported by England players to manager Gareth Southgate, with the referee informed and a public announcement made on two occasions.

"The officials were onto everything very quickly," said Southgate. "We reported everything very quickly when we heard things.

"I explained to the players that if anything else did happen in the second half we would be coming off. We all saw the second half was calmer and that allowed our players to do their talking with the football."

Most of the Bulgaria players and coach Krasimir Balakov said they had not heard any abuse of the England team.

"It's a very delicate subject," Balakov told reporters. "I do not think there is a single person in Bulgaria who would say that racism is something pleasant.

"But at the same time, it is very strange how this topic is interpreted in football. I have heard absolutely nothing (during the game)."

On the pitch, Ross Barkley and Raheem Sterling both netted twice after Marcus Rashford got the opener and captain Harry Kane finished off the rout, Bulgaria's heaviest home defeat, as the visitors recovered from a 2-1 loss to the Czech Republic on Friday.

England, who moved closer to a place at Euro 2020, are top of the group with 15 points from six games, three ahead of the Czechs and four in front of Kosovo who beat Montenegro 2-0.

EARLY VICTIM

England debutant Tyrone Mings was an early victim of racist abuse, turning towards the fans when chants were aimed in his direction. Croatian referee Ivan Bebek stopped the game in the 28th minute after Raheem Sterling was a target for abuse.

A public announcement condemned the racist abuse before stating that the match would be abandoned if it continued.

The game was stopped again in the 43rd minute but resumed after the referee consulted England manager Gareth Southgate.

A group of black-clad Bulgarian fans, some of whom were making right-wing salutes, were moved from an area behind the dugout with home team captain Ivelin Popov trying to appeal to the supporters in a heated discussion at halftime.

Popov did not even go to the dressing room, attempting to explain to fans that their behaviour was unacceptable.

European soccer governing body UEFA had ordered the Bulgarian Football Union to partially close the Vasil Levski national stadium for England's visit after supporters were found guilty of racist behaviour in matches earlier this year.

On the pitch, Barkley struck twice after Rashford score in the seventh minute as Southgate’s side highlighted the gap in quality with the hosts before Sterling netted before halftime.

England’s victory was rounded off by Sterling's second goal midway through the second half and a cool finish from Kane five minutes from the end against bottom side Bulgaria.

"We have no class," coach Krasimir Balakov said of his side. "I understand all the people who have bought tickets and wanted something different, but against this England team, with this dynamic, and with these players that cost millions..." 

(Reporting by Angel Krasimirov; Editing by Ken Ferris)

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Ronaldo back in style for Real, Spurs end Wembley jinx

PARIS, France -- Cristiano Ronaldo grabbed a brace on his return from suspension for Real Madrid, as Tottenham Hotspur ended their Wembley jinx and Liverpool were held on their Champions League comeback on Wednesday.

Real have sorely missed their Portuguese superstar as he serves a five-match domestic ban for pushing a referee.

But he wasted no time in making his towering presence felt against APOEL Nicosia, scoring after just 12 minutes from Gareth Bale's low cross, and then doubling his tally from the penalty spot before Sergio Ramos's overhead kick rounded off the cosy 3-0 win.

Ronaldo has now struck 12 times in his last six Champions League games.

"He is the best in the world. We know he will always score goals," said Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane.

"With a bit more luck today he could have scored four. Cristiano has so many goals in him and we feel it."

"Hopefully he stays in form. You can't question the levels he reaches every year," added Ramos.

The titleholders top Group H with Tottenham, who ended their woeful Wembley run with an impressive Harry Kane-inspired 3-1 win over Borussia Dortmund.

Already scarred by damaging Wembley defeats in the Champions League and FA Cup semi-finals last term, Tottenham had lost to Chelsea and drawn with Burnley this season, sparking alarmist talk that they were jinxed at the hallowed north London venue.

But, after losing eight of their previous 12 matches at Wembley, Kane's predatory finishing ensured Tottenham finally enjoyed a night to remember in their temporary lodgings.

Son Heung-Min's first goal of the season put Tottenham ahead early on with Andriy Yarmolenko conjuring a sublime equaliser.

Kane, who scored twice in Saturday's win at Everton, restored Tottenham's advantage before the interval and wrapped up the victory with his second goal after half-time.

The only blemish for Spurs was a late sending off for a second bookable offence for Jan Vertonghen, who swung his forearm into Mario Gotze's face.

"It was so important to win, we are so happy. We increased our level in the second half and were very clinical," Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino said.

"It is more than three points. The team is more mature now. Harry Kane was fantastic."

- Costly Firmino miss -

At Anfield, Roberto Firmino's first-half penalty miss proved costly for Liverpool as Joaquin Correa scored a dramatic equaliser to grab Sevilla a 2-2 draw.

Anfield was in jubilant mood as the English club welcomed back Champions League football after a two-year absence, but it took Sevilla just four minutes to dampen the enthusiasm.

After Wissam Ben Yedder had given the Spanish side an early lead, goals from Firmino and Mohamed Salah put Liverpool ahead, only for Firmino to miss a penalty.

On the hour, Sevilla manager Eduardo Berizzo was dismissed for throwing the ball away from Liverpool's Joe Gomez as he tried to take a throw-in, but his disappointment was eased, thanks to Correa, on 72 minutes.

"Of course I'm not happy with the result but I'm happy with a big part of the game," said Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp.

"A lot of times when good teams play each other, the games are kind of boring, but this game was the opposite. And that was due to the desire, the passion, the greed of my team."

Liverpool and Sevilla were joined on one point in Group E by Spartak Moscow and Maribor, who drew 1-1 in Slovenia.

Manchester City ran out the biggest winners of the night with a 4-0 rout of Feyenoord in Rotterdam courtesy of goals from Sergio Aguero, Gabriel Jesus and John Stones' double.

City coach Pep Guardiola commented: "We did not play back... We were aggressive... We had the legs to run on the side, especially on the right and created the chances. Enough to win the game comfortably."

Shakhtar Donetsk beat Napoli 2-1 to share the summit in Group F.

French champions Monaco were held 1-1 at competition newcomers RB Leipzig in Germany as Besiktas topped Group G with a 3-1 win at Porto.

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UEFA Super Cup: Real Madrid outclasses Man United

A delightful goal by Isco proved the difference as Real Madrid survived a Manchester United fightback to win 2-1 and lift the UEFA Super Cup in the Macedonian capital of Skopje early Wednesday morning.

Casemiro put the reigning European champions in front on 24 minutes on a steamy summer's night in the Balkans and Isco doubled their lead seven minutes into the second half after a one-two with Gareth Bale.

The gulf in class between Madrid -- for whom Cristiano Ronaldo appeared as a late substitute -- and Europa League winners United that Jose Mourinho had feared was all too evident and it looked like the Spaniards would go on to win by a wider margin.

But Romelu Lukaku pulled one back just past the hour, marking his competitive debut for United with a goal and sparking a big improvement from the Premier League club in the final stages.

It was to no avail, with Zinedine Zidane's side winning this trophy for the second year running and the fourth time overall. It is the eighth time in nine years that a Spanish club has won the Super Cup.

Bale handed start

While Ronaldo started on the bench for Madrid having only commenced pre-season training at the weekend, Bale was included in the line-up.

United boss Mourinho caused a stir on Monday when he claimed he would make a bid to take the Welshman to Old Trafford if he were not a starter at the Philip II Arena.

Despite the presence of £75 million ($97 million) signing Lukaku up front, with Paul Pogba behind, United gave the impression that they could do with some extra inspiration in the final third.

Having missed much of last season's run-in due to injury, Bale is fit again, but it was Casemiro who emerged as the unlikely main threat going forward for Real in the first half.

The Brazilian midfielder almost opened the scoring in the 16th minute, getting in front of Matteo Darmian to head a Toni Kroos corner against the bar from six yards.

And the breakthrough came just past the midway point in the first half as Dani Carvajal was afforded the time to flight a ball over Victor Lindelof -- another United debutant -- for Casemiro to stretch and volley past David de Gea.

De Gea, formerly a Madrid transfer target, then needed to intervene to save from a Karim Benzema snap-shot that followed a driving run into the area by Luka Modric, as Zidane's side were restricted to a one-goal lead at the break.

Mourinho sent on Marcus Rashford for Jesse Lingard at the start of the second half, yet it was at the other end that the chances kept coming.

De Gea repelled a Kroos piledriver but there was nothing he could do to stop Isco making it 2-0 in the 52nd minute.

Surrounded by red shirts just inside the area to the left, Isco escaped their attentions by playing a one-two with Bale before coolly finishing past De Gea.

Bale then struck the bar, and all this was going on without Ronaldo, who appeared from the bench to warm-up, raising hysteric cheers from the sizeable number of locals with sympathies for the Spanish side.

United had a mountain to climb and were not helped when Lukaku blazed over after Keylor Navas pushed a Pogba header out into his path.

Lukaku did not make the same mistake twice, converting the rebound when a Nemanja Matic drive was not convincingly dealt with by Navas, but the 'keeper redeemed himself with a vital late save to deny Rashford.

And Real, with Ronaldo on for the closing stages, held on.

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Ronaldo stays atop Forbes list of richest athletes

NEW YORK -- Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo remained atop Forbes magazine's list of 100 highest-paid athletes, with Cleveland Cavaliers star LeBron James moving up to second on a list heavy on NBA players.

The 32-year-old Portugal forward is estimated to have earned a total of $93 million between his football salary of $58 million and $35 million in endorsement income.

It's the second straight year Ronaldo has topped the list, released Wednesday just days after he spearheaded a 4-1 victory over Juventus that made Real Madrid the first team to retain the UEFA Champions League title.

   
James, with estimated earnings of $86.2 million, was one of 32 NBA players who made the top 100 -- up from 18 last year.

He took over second place from the Argentine footballer Lionel Messi, now third with $80 million.

Swiss tennis great Roger Federer ($64 million) and Golden State Warriors guard Kevin Durant ($60.6 million) rounded out the top five -- just as they did last year.

The Forbes figures include salaries, prize money and bonuses earned between June 1, 2016, and June 1, 2017. Endorsement incomes are an estimate of sponsorships, appearance fees and licensing incomes for the same 12-month period based on conversations with industry insiders.

Serena Williams, a 23-time Grand Slam winner, was the lone woman on the list with an estimated income of $27 million -- $19 million of which came from endorsements -- to place her 51st overall.

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Wolfsburg shock Real Madrid 2-0 to crown big European night

WOLFSBURG, Germany - Real Madrid's hopes of an 11th European title were left hanging by a thread as they slumped to a shock 2-0 loss at Germany's Champions League novices VfL Wolfsburg in their quarter-final first leg on Wednesday.

The Germans were celebrating a memorable last-eight debut after Ricardo Rodriguez's penalty in the 18th minute and Maximilian Arnold's strike in the 25th stunned the visitors only four days after their 'Clasico' win in Spain over Barcelona.

Despite making just one change to the lineup that started against Barca, Real coach Zinedine Zidane's team will now go into the return leg in Madrid next Tuesday with a clear disadvantage.

The Germans, last season's Bundesliga runners-up who had scored only one goal in their last three matches, were more aggressive than the Spaniards and used their chances extremely well.

"You have to bring that energy if you want to win," said Wolfsburg coach Dieter Hecking. "I was laughed at when I said yesterday that we may have a chance. Real had their opportunities early on and we were a bit lucky.

"We pulled together, we found the spaces and played very well. Now we will go to Madrid, knowing that we have a chance to advance."

The Spaniards, who saw Karim Benzema limp off with a foot injury in the 40th minute, enjoyed a strong start but never recovered from the quick two-goal punch and were lucky not to have conceded a third in the second half.

"I am very disappointed. We had imagined it completely differently," said Real midfielder Toni Kroos. ""We started well, had a big chance early on. We did not underestimate them but struggled after those two goals. We had too little movement."

The Spaniards needed only 90 seconds to put the ball in the net but Cristiano Ronaldo's effort was ruled offside.

They kept up the pressure and Frenchman Benzema came close minutes later when his shot was blocked by Wolfsburg's Diego Benaglio.

But it was the hosts who struck first after being awarded a penalty when Andre Schuerrle went down in the box in a challenge with Casemiro.

Swiss international Rodriguez sent Keylor Navas the wrong way before Wolfsburg struck again seven minutes later with Arnold sliding in to complete a superb passing move that left the Real backline dazed.

Things got even worse for the Spanish side as Benzema was taken off minutes before the break and Real struggled to develop any traction in their attacking game in the second half.

"I think it was the first half the caused us problems," said Real coach Zinedine Zidane. "We were not concentrated enough. We did it better in the second half but we did not score."

Champions League top scorer Ronaldo was rarely left without two players marking him and he was also denied by Benaglio in their one-on-one in the 70th as Real grew more desperate, pouring forward in search of a goal.

Wolfsburg kept threatening to extend their lead and although Schuerrle twice failed to score despite racing clear, it did not prevent the Germans from condemning Real to their first defeat this season in the competition.

(Reporting by Karolos Grohmann, editing by Pritha Sarkar)

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FIFA's leaders meet amidst latest scandal storm

FIFA's executive committee were gathering on Tuesday as acting president Issa Hayatou attempts to steer football's embattled governing body through the latest storm of scandals to blight their Zurich headquarters.

The extraordinary meeting was announced on October 9 after FIFA's ethics committee suspended president Sepp Blatter, secretary general Jerome Valcke, and Michel Platini for 90 days from all football-related activities.

The trio are all banned from attending what will be the first executive committee meeting held without Blatter's presence for 40 years and Hayatou sees restoring public trust as a matter of priority.

Cameroon's Hayatou takes charge of FIFA's helm amidst the worst scandals in the organisation's 111-year history and it will be far from business as usual.

"It’s certainly an unprecedented situation for FIFA," said the 69-year-old.

"But we remain focused on the necessary reform process, the presidential election and on supporting the current investigations.

"To restore public trust is a crucial objective. It is essential that FIFA carries on its mission of developing the game and staging international tournaments."

On the agenda, the executive committee will hear the first recommendations from FIFA's reform committee, tasked with suggesting changes within FIFA's corridors of power, with the aims of restoring it's badly tarnished credibility.

The increased need for transparency on renumeration is poised to be discussed, but the backdrop to the meeting remains the power struggle ahead of the FIFA presidential election on February 26 at next year's extraordinary congress.

FIFA's leaders meet in Zurich with the organisation under-fire from all sides.

After several key sponsors called for Blatter to resign, FIFA took the unprecedented step of suspending it's president based on suspicions a two million Swiss franc ($2 million, 1.8 million euros) payment made by Blatter to Platini in 2011 was not above board.

Neither have explained the reason for the nine-year delay in payment for work Platini carried out as Blatter’s technical advisor from 1999 to 2002.

Platini, president of European football's governing body UEFA, had been seen as favourite to replace Blatter as FIFA president in next year's elections until he was named in a Swiss criminal investigation into Blatter's management of FIFA.

Swiss investigators are also looking into FIFA's awarding of the 2018 World Cup to Russia and the 2022 tournament to Qatar in a bribery scandal which has seen 14 people arrested by American and Swiss authorities.

Seven former FIFA officials were arrested by Swiss authorities in May as the United States attempts to have them extradited to face charges of accepting bribes.

Over the weekend, allegations of cash-for-votes by magazine Der Spiegel has drawn the awarding of the 2006 World Cup to Germany into question and the German Football Association (DFB) has strenuously denied any wrong-doing.

Then on Monday, Platini admitted he had no written contract for the two million Swiss franc payment by Blatter, but had a "man-to-man agreement" as his chances of replacing the Swiss veteran as head of the world body nosedived.

Platini told French newspaper Le Monde he felt Blatter was seeking to "kill me politically" over the contested payment and says he feels "shame at being dragged through the mud".

The Frenchman believes he is "the only one who can ensure that FIFA again becomes the home of football".

So far, only two candidates have officially submitted applications to stand as FIFA president: Platini and Jordan's Prince Ali bin al Hussein, who pushed Blatter to a second round of voting in May's election.

Possible other runners include South Africa's Tokyo Sexwale, a former cellmate of Nelson Mandela, and Jerome Champagne, the former deputy secretary general of FIFA.

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Rooney hopes for 'special' Wembley moment

LONDON -- Having matched Bobby Charlton's England goal-scoring record against San Marino, Wayne Rooney plans to set a new mark in front of a home crowd against Switzerland at Wembley on Tuesday.

Rooney's penalty opener in Saturday's 6-0 win in San Marino, which secured a place at Euro 2016, was his 49th international goal and left him needing one more to become the first England player to reach a half-century.

Substituted mid-way through the second half in Serravalle, Rooney believes it will be more fitting if he breaks the record at Wembley, but admits that it is trophies, rather than personal milestones, that fire him.

"It would have been nice tonight (Saturday) as well, but to do it at Wembley would be a lot more special and hopefully on Tuesday I can do that," the Manchester United striker said.

"It was my 106th game and as much as I love playing for England and scoring goals, there would be nothing better than being successful with England and that's all any player wants to do.

"I'm sure the other lads are no different. It's the ultimate goal and if I don't, I'll be disappointed.

"Hopefully the young players in the future can, but it's the ultimate goal for me and that's what I want to do -– be successful with England."

Euro 2016 will be Rooney's sixth major championship with England and he knows that time is running out for him to atone for a litany of tournament disappointments by getting his hands on an international trophy.

The England captain will be 30 by the time England travel to France, but he fully intends to play on until the 2018 World Cup in Russia and potentially beyond.

"I still feel fine," he said. "I think I can go to Russia and then see how I feel, but that's not something I'm thinking about."

- Hodgson wants 'headaches' -

Manager Roy Hodgson wants his team to make sure of top spot in Group E -- a draw on Tuesday will suffice -- so that he can use England's remaining qualifiers against Estonia and Lithuania in October to experiment.

"Hopefully, one point on Tuesday night and we will have won the group as well," said Hodgson, whose side have won all six group games since beating Switzerland 2-0 in Basel in their first match.

"That would be nice to do that because, quite frankly, I don't think we would lose to Estonia and Lithuania with players like (Ross) Barkley, (Jonjo) Shelvey, (Nathaniel) Clyne, (Jamie) Vardy etc.

"It would be nice for me to say: 'Look, get out there, I'm trusting you, give me a few headaches because I'm resting these ones who have been playing all the time.' It would be a nice headache."

Hodgson praised Swansea City midfielder Shelvey for his display against San Marino, but said that Rooney's United team-mate Michael Carrick would take over in the midfield holding role against Switzerland.

In a previous job, Hodgson led Switzerland to the World Cup finals in 1994 -- the first time they had reached the tournament since 1966 -- and the country he once called home is hoping he might do them another favour.

Switzerland's qualification hopes looked in serious jeopardy after they fell 2-0 down at home to Slovenia on Saturday, but a stirring late fightback yielded a remarkable 3-2 victory that means they can secure at least a play-off place by winning at Wembley.

"We had a bit of luck, but we deserved to win," said coach Vladimir Petkovic, whose side prevailed courtesy of three goals in 14 minutes from Valentin Stocker and substitute Josip Drmic, whose brace included a 94th-minute winner.

"We said that, as a team, we wanted to stay together and be positive. I'm really proud of the team. It's not every day you manage to do something like this."

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Ronaldo wins another European award for his museum

MONACO - Cristiano Ronaldo, whose extra-time penalty put the seal on Real Madrid's 4-1 Champions League final victory over Atletico Madrid in May, was named UEFA's Best Player in Europe on Thursday.

Ronaldo scored 17 goals in all as Real won the title for the 10th time. The Portuguese was presented with the award in Monte Carlo by UEFA President Michel Platini at the end of the draw for this season's Champions League.

He won ahead of Bayern Munich's Arjen Robben and Manuel Neuer in a live vote by a panel of 54 journalists.

"I'm really happy, so I must say thanks to my team-mates because without the team, individual awards would not be possible. I don't have this trophy in my museum, so my brother is going to put it there immediately," he said.

Nadine Kessler won the women's award after captaining VfL Wolfsburg to the women's Champions League title, ahead of team-mates Nilla Fischer and Martina Mueller.

Ronaldo opened a museum on Madeira in 2013 to showcase his trophies and medals.

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