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Fabio Capello’s England arrived at Wembley full of confidence after their 4-1 demolition of Croatia in the last round and looking forward to putting their Wembley troubles behind them against Kazakhstan, a team ranked 131st in the world.

With Steven Gerrard back to full fitness, the Italian opted for a 4-3-3 formation with Walcott, Rooney and Heskey the front men. Yet Gerrard struggled to make an impression in the first half as England laboured against the visitors.

Instead, it was the hat-trick hero against Croatia, Theo Walcott, who looked the Three Lions best chance of success in a disappointing first half for Capello’s side.

As early as the third minute a back heel by Wes Brown found the Gunner scampering down the right flank. Walcott’s pace left the Kazakh defenders for dead and his cross almost found Heskey yards from goal but covering defender Kislitsyn did enough to snuff out the danger.

The relatively inexperienced Kazakhs were proving clearly undaunted by their surroundings. It took them less than 10 minutes to fire a shot at David James’ goal, the lively Nusserbayev, dragging his shot wide after Ashley Cole had hesitated and allowed him space.

Minutes later some nervy defending from John Terry’s replacement Matthew Upson almost allowed Bernd Storck’s men in once again but his woeful back pass was cleared by David James.

Yet that was about as close at the visitors came as England dominated possession yet failed to carve open the Kazakhs in a performance that has become familiar at Wembley.

Walcott was one of the few bright performers on view. His pace on the right was worrying the vistiors and he carved out an excellent chance for himself, taking out two defenders with a mazy run before firing over.

Yet as the half progressed, the game became scrappy and with the vistors defending solidly, and England becoming frustrated, it was little surprise to hear the first boos ring out as the half time whistle sounded at a goalless Wembley.

Capello opted to change things at half time, sending on Shaun Wright-Phillips for Gareth Barry as England reverted to a more familiar shape.

Yet it was the Kazakhs who should have opened the scoring at the beginning of the second half. Sabyrkhan Ibrayev was found in acres of space on the right and his cross eventually found Nusserbayev, who conspired to miss from close range with the goal gaping.

Minutes later England made them pay for their profligacy. A corner in from Lampard found goalkeeper Mokin grasping at thin air leaving Rio Ferdinand to head home, much to the crowd’s relief and the stand-in captain’s obvious delight.

However, Kazakhstan came right back at the home side. Nusserbayev forcing James into a flying save as Storck’s men sought an instant response.

Indeed Nusserbayev was looking lively against an edgy looking England defence yet just after the hour mark, Fabio Capello’s men doubled their lead.

Again it was a set piece, and again Frank Lampard was the provider. His free kick lofted into the box, skimmed off Alexandr Kuchma’s head and into the back of the net, to all but seal the win for England.

Yet moments later and Kazakhstan had shocked England out of their comfort zone. Ashley Cole attempted a simply awful dinked back pass that was intercepted by Zhambyl Kukeyev who drilled a finish past James much to the visitors’ delight.

However, England restored their two goal lead within ten minutes. Walcott and Brown combining well down the right before the Manchester United defender picked out his team mate Rooney in the box and the striker headed home for England’s third of the night.

There was still time for more goals and Rooney was the man on hand to bag a brace. A scramble in the box saw the ball finally fall at the feet of the freshly shorn striker who slotted it between Mokin’s legs.

The goal was to be his last action of the night but his replacement Jermaine Defoe was on hand to continue where Rooney had left off. The Portsmouth striker was sent clean through and finished confidently to give the scoreline a flattering look.

England: James, Brown, Ferdinand, Upson, A Cole, Barry (Wright-Phillips, 46), Gerrard, Lampard, Walcott (Beckham, 79), Heskey, Rooney (Defoe, 86).

Kazakhstan: Mokin, Kirov (Sabalakov, 85) Kuchma, Kislitsyn, Nusserbayev, Skorykh, Ostapenko (Maltsev, 76), Baltiyev, Ibrayev, Kukeyev, Logvinenko

kakibangku's verdict: England got their win deservely but Kazakhstan give them a scare until Wayne Rooney and defoe seal the victory with their superb effort. Anyway, good win for England!

Shocks were thin on the ground on Matchday 3 of the European qualifying competition for the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™, as the favourites flexed their muscles. England, Spain and Greece are the only three sides to have won three out of three.

Game of the day

This Group 4 encounter between the UEFA EURO 2008 runners-up and one of the semi-finalists promised much. The Germans made their customary fast start, with Lukas Podolski opening the scoring early on and Michael Ballack doubling their advantage before the half-hour mark. The Russians never stopped running, however, and worked their way back into the game after the restart. It was Andrei Arshavin, somewhat inevitably, who reduced the arrears before Guus Hiddink's side laid siege to the German goal. But Rene Adler, the major success story for the hosts, was in inspired form in goal and made sure the Mannschaft clung on to the points.

Surprise of the day

After overcoming France 3-1 in their first match in Group 7, the Austrians failed to overcome the side who famously beat them when they met back in 1990. The islanders were entertaining hopes of repeating that win when Bogi Lokin put them ahead at the start of the second half. The visitors hit back quickly, however, but could not prevent the Faroes from picking up their first point in the group.

The other games

Denmark lead the way in Group 1 after Portugal and Sweden drew a blank in Solna.

Greece put three goals past Moldova without reply, two of them coming from Angelos Charisteas. With nine points out of nine, the Greeks lead Group 2 ahead of Israel and Switzerland.

Poland and Slovenia are out front in Group 3. Missing three key midfielders, Czech Republic went down 2-1 away to the Poles and now find themselves six points behind the leading duo.

Andrei Arshavin scored once and almost grabbed an equaliser for Russia away to Germany, but it is Joachim Low's men who sit atop Group 4 after their 2-1 win. Finland beat Azerbaijan to stay in touch with the leaders.

Spain continued their serene progress in Group 5 with a routine 3-0 triumph in Estonia. The European champions have now gone 38 matches without defeat in FIFA World Cup qualifying matches and have yet to concede in this latest campaign, while scoring eight. Turkey and Belgium both won, however, to keep up the pressure on the leaders.

In Group 6, England thrashed Kazakhstan 5-1 to open up a five-point lead over Croatia, who played out a goalless draw with Ukraine. Fabio Capello's men have a 100 per cent record so far and scored their 200th FIFA World Cup qualifying goal when Alexandr Kuchma put through his own goal.

Lithuania came back down to earth, losing 3-0 in Serbia, but still lead the way in a wide-open Group 7, where five sides are in contention for first place. France were on the brink against Romania but fought back for a 2-2 draw.

Italy were content to come away from Bulgaria with a draw and stay in pole position in Group 8 on seven points, three clear of Republic of Ireland.

And in Group 9 Scotland shared the spoils with Norway in a disappointing 0-0 draw, a result that allowed the Netherlands, easy 2-0 victors against Iceland, to move two points in front with a game in hand.

The stat
7 - The number of years Israel have now gone unbeaten away from home in FIFA World Cup qualifiers. The last time the Israelis lost on their travels was back in March 2001, when they went down 2-1 to Austria.

Goal of the day
Romania 2-2 France
Yoann Gourcuff, 69

The Bordeaux playmaker made the most of his latest international outing, putting France back on level terms with a 25-yard drive that caught out an otherwise-inspired Bogdan Lobont in the Romania goal.

What they said
"There wasn't much we could do against one of the best teams in the world. I thought we put up a pretty good fight and despite the defeat we can be proud of ourselves," Estonia coach Tarmo Ruutli gives his thoughts after seeing his side lose 3-0 to Spain.

kakibangku's verdict: All the big boys win!

Chelsea are considering suing Manchester United for the £12 million they received in payment for John Obi Mikel after issuing a £16 million High Court writ yesterday against Lyn Oslo and Morgan Andersen, their former chief executive, as The Times revealed they were planning to do in February. Chelsea accept that the Norwegian club are in no position to return the Nigeria midfield player’s full transfer value and are likely to accept a much lower settlement out of court, but that would not stop them pursuing United for the remainder of the transfer fee.

Fabio Capello is considering shedding his customary cautious approach in favour of a more attack-minded line-up against Kazakhstan tomorrow, with Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard expected to be reunited in a narrow midfield trio anchored by Aston Villa's Gareth Barry.

The England squad continued their preparations for Wembley's first competitive game under the Italian yesterday but the captain, John Terry, was unable to participate due to a back injury and is doubtful for next week's trip to Belarus. Capello is hopeful the Chelsea defender will prove his fitness before Wednesday's match in Minsk but in the meantime he appears to be leaning towards Joleon Lescott as the stand-in captain Rio Ferdinand's defensive partner for tomorrow.

Capello, aware that his side have been barracked at times during recent games at Wembley, is anxious to begin the home campaign in swashbuckling style to try to maintain momentum after the startling 4-1 win in Croatia a little over four weeks ago. Indeed the coach has already warned his players that they must continue to reproduce their club form to keep England on top of Group Six.

"They need to play with confidence, the confidence that I see them playing with for their clubs," Capello said. "But, also, they need to play every game as if it is their last."

The head coach experimented with various selections yesterday, one of which was a fluid 4-3-3, but he is loth to drop Barry. Gerrard, absent injured against the Croats, will effectively return for the sidelined Joe Cole. With Theo Walcott wide on the right, Emile Heskey and Wayne Rooney would make up the three-man attack.

"When you look at Ronaldo, Messi and [Sergio] Aguero, they deserve to be up for world player of the year the way they've played recently," he added. "If I keep working and progressing, I'd like to think I could do that one day. The second half in Croatia was probably the best 45 minutes I've played for England. But I'd rather win a trophy than any personal honour."

Uefa have revealed European football's governing body is looking at addressing the number of clubs who are succeeding on borrowed money as the current economic crisis threatens the game.

There is even talk clubs could be excluded from European competitions if they fail to manage their debts.

The funds owner Roman Abramovich has loaned Chelsea have allowed the London club to grow into European giants, and chairman Buck is confident the debt to the owner will be available for years to come.

But he also admits the Blues will start to feel the pinch in the coming months.

"No one is immune to the credit crisis, even football," he told Sky Sports News.

"I don't think any club is feeling it (the credit crunch) immediately but I think we all will feel it in the relatively near term.

Buck said: "One of our priorities is finding young English players.

"They settle more quickly and understand the culture and dynamics of the English game.

"Money goes a long way but it doesn't necessarily get you over the line."

Four years ago, UEFA set up a system designed to make sure clubs were operating within their means.

kakibangku's verdict: This is a time of recession and everybody affected by this issue. Clubs should handle this matter in their best interest and avoid being declared bankrupt!

AC Milan will continue their bid for a first UEFA Cup triumph against SC Heerenveen, SC Braga, debutants Portsmouth FC and VfL Wolfsburg after the group stage draw was made in Nyon on Tuesday.

Former champions
Milan have been placed in Group E, among eight pools that will all send three teams to the Round of 32 in February along with the sides finishing third in their UEFA Champions League sections. Of Milan's fellow former European champions, AFC Ajax, Hamburger SV and Aston Villa take on Group F rivals SK Slavia Praha and MŠK Žilina while SL Benfica meet Olympiacos CFP, 2000 UEFA Cup winners Galatasaray AŞ, Hertha BSC Berlin and FC Metalist Kharkiv in Group B.

Sevilla bid
Sevilla FC, bidding to win the UEFA Cup for the third time in four years, are in Group C against Stuttgart, UC Sampdoria, FK Partizan and R. Standard de Liège. Of the other former UEFA Cup winners both PFC CSKA Moskva and Feyenoord are in Group H against AS Nancy-Lorraine, KKS Lech Poznań and RC Deportivo La Coruña.

Schalke task
FC Schalke 04 have a tough Group A task meeting Paris Saint-Germain FC, Manchester City FC, Real Racing Club and FC Twente. Two-time winners Tottenham Hotspur FC are up against Group D rivals FC Spartak Moskva, Udinese Calcio, NK Dinamo Zagreb and NEC Nijmegen. Valencia CF, victors in 2004, play Group G opponents Club Brugge KV, FC København, AS Saint-Etienne and Rosenborg BK, one of five UEFA Intertoto Cup winners still in the UEFA Cup along with Braga, Villa, Deportivo and Stuttgart.

Fixtures
Matches begin on 23 October and continue on 6 and 27 November, then 3/4 and 17/18 December with each club in action on four of those matchdays and fixtures to be confirmed shortly. In the Round of 32 draw on 19 December, the teams finish first and third will be paired, with the runners-up meeting the sides currently competing in the UEFA Champions League. This is the last year that the tournament will be in its current format before being relaunched as the UEFA Europa League.