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Wayne Rooney: England pace was the key to success against Switzerland

England captain Wayne Rooney believes pace was fundamental to success for the remodelled team he led to a 2-0 victory in the Euro 2016 qualifier against Switzerland in Basel on Monday night.

- Palmer: Three points - Switzerland vs. England

Rooney played his part in the opening goal for Arsenal striker Danny Welbeck, who went on to add a second in the closing stages to wrap up an impressive win for an England side that went into their opening qualifier under pressure following a disappointing early exit from the World Cup finals this summer.

"We caught them on the break with the speed we have been talking about and Danny got two great goals," Rooney told ITV Sport.

"We played some great stuff. We defended well as a team, which was important for us and we took our chances.

"We have put the work in. We have worked on our defensive shape when we haven't got the ball and springing from defence to attack, which we have seen with the two goals tonight. The things we have worked at on the training ground have paid off so it is a happy performance for us."

Match-winner Welbeck was delighted with what was his most notable performance yet in an England shirt, as he suggested he always felt confident of hurting the Switzerland defence with his speed.

"I know I have got the pace to get them in behind them," stated Welbeck. "Once we got the first goal we were in control and we played a good team game today.

"We created a number of chances in which we could have maybe done better on the final pass, but once we got the first goal we were in control.

"We played a good team game and you could see from the work ethic all round, everyone was playing for each other and that is very important."