ENGLAND’S march towards Euro 2016 continued this afternoon as they maintained their 100 per cent qualifying record with a 3-1 win over their closest rivals at the top of Group E, Slovenia.

Having failed to fire during a listless first half, Roy Hodgson’s side suffered a wobble when former Sunderland midfielder Jordan Henderson headed into his own net 12 minutes after the interval.

It was the first goal England had conceded in this qualifying campaign, but just eight minutes later, and Roy Hodgson’s side had turned the game on its head to claim a 2-1 lead.

Wayne Rooney celebrated winning his 100th international cap by drilling home the equaliser from the spot, before Danny Welbeck hooked home a loose ball in the area after Adam Lallana’s shot had been saved.

Welbeck added a third goal with 18 minutes left to make it five goals in his last four international appearances, and the result means England have opened up a six-point lead at the top of the group ahead of this evening’s game between Switzerland and Lithuania.

Hodgson made three changes from England’s last appearance in Estonia, with Nathaniel Clyne, Kieran Gibbs and Raheem Sterling all coming into the side.

Sterling missed last month’s 1-0 win in Tallinn after complaining of tiredness, but if the Liverpool forward’s return was meant to spark England into life after a lacklustre display in Estonia, it did not have the desired effect.

Hodgson’s side were dreadful in the opening 45 minutes, indeed it is hard to think of too many poorer first-half displays against sides outside the top tier of international football.

Perhaps the 2010 World Cup display against Algeria or the game in Andorra that had the fans calling for Steve McClaren’s head would come close - but it would be a tightly-fought thing.

Slovenian goalkeeper Samir Handanovic was only called into action once before the break, and that was to turn an errant back-pass from Jasmin Kurtic around the post.

Sterling and Welbeck both failed to find the target with half-chances from outside the area, while Rooney blazed over in the 25th minute after Welbeck’s lay off from Gibbs’ long ball teed up him up 25 yards out.

Too much of England’s midfield play was extremely ponderous, with Henderson and Adam Lallana in particular offering precious little in an attacking sense.

Slovenia’s ambition was understandably limited, with coach Srecko Katanc clearly having instructed his players not to push forward and leave themselves exposed at the back.

However, the visitors still created the best opportunity of the first half, with striker Milivoje Novakovic evading his marker from a corner, only to head well wide at the near post.

Having been booed off by a small section of supporters at half-time, England’s players desperately needed to display some increased intensity in the second half, and in fairness, there was a marked rise in tempo in the immediate aftermath of the break.

Rooney glanced Lallana’s corner wide of the target after evading his marker, and Sterling found himself much wider on the right-hand side as Hodgson ditched his diamond formation and went with a 4-3-3 system.

The aim was clearly to offer an increased goalscoring threat, but when the deadlock was eventually broken in the 55th minute, it was England’s Joe Hart that was picking the ball out of his net.

Andraz Kirm whipped in a free-kick from the left, and Jordan Henderson glanced the ball into his own net as he attempted to prevent Ales Mertelj from reaching the set-piece.

Henderson might not be a Sunderland player any more, but he’s clearly held on to his former club’s fondness for putting the ball in the wrong net.

The goal came out of the blue, but it proved the decisive moment in waking England from their slumbers, and within less than two minutes, the hosts were level from the spot.

Having won the penalty himself as he wriggled past two players and drew a crude foul from Bostjan Cesar, Rooney drilled home his 44th international goal despite Samir Handanovic getting a hand to his powerfully-hit strike.

Slovenia threatened again moments later, with Gary Cahill’s excellent sliding challenge sparing Phil Jagielka’s blushes after the centre-half almost teed up Mertelj, but England claimed their second goal in the space of six minutes from their next attack to turn the game completely on its head.

Handanovic parried Lallana’s deflected shot after the midfielder cut in from the right, and Welbeck’s hooked follow-up shot was hardly the cleanest he will ever hit, the ball nestled neatly in the bottom corner of the net.

That was a scruff finish, but the Arsenal striker produced a much cleaner one with 18 minutes left to extend England’s lead and effectively put the game beyond doubt.

Having received the ball from an overlapping Gibbs, Welbeck unlocked the Slovenian defence with a neat one-two with Sterling before slotting a precise finish past Handanovic.

England (4-1-2-1-2): Hart; Clyne, Cahill, Jagielka (Smalling 89), Gibbs; Wilshere; Henderson, Lallana (Milner 79); Sterling (Oxlade-Chamberlain 84); Rooney, Welbeck.

Subs (not used): Foster (gk), Forster (gk), Chambers, Barkley, Walcott, Downing, Berahino, Lambert.

Slovenia (4-4-1-1): Handanovic; Brecko, Ilic, Cesar, Struna; Birsa (Lazarevic 63), Mertelj, Kurtic (Rotman 75), Kirm (Ljubijankic 77); Kampl; Novakovic.

Subs (not used): Oblak (gk), Belec (gk), Filipovic, Stevanovic, Pecnik, Andjelkovic, Maroh, Milec, Samardzic.