ENGLAND 3 ISRAEL 0

ENGLAND kept their European Championships qualifying campaign on track at Wembley this afternoon with a comprehensive 3-0 victory over Israel.

Shaun Wright-Phillips, Michael Owen and Micah Richards were all on target as Steve McClaren's side secured a morale-boosting win over one of their major rivals for a place in next year's finals in Austria and Switzerland.

The success means that England have leapfrogged their opponents into third place in the Group E table, a point behind second-placed Russia, who visit Wembley on Wednesday evening.

England began brightly and could have gone ahead as early as the tenth minute when the recalled Emile Heskey fired over the crossbar from the 14 yards.

Heskey also directed an early back-post header wide of the target but, with Israel content to sit back in defence, the chances continued to come and the hosts duly gained a deserved advantage in the 20th minute.

Joe Cole floated a left-wing cross to the far post and, with Israel's defenders pushing up, Wright-Phillips evaded the offside trap to direct a precise first-time finish beyond goalkeeper Dudu Aouate.

Richards forced the Israeli shot-stopper into a fine save shortly after and, with England enjoying the bulk of possession, Owen also came close to adding a second before the break.

Racing onto an intelligent Joe Cole flick, Owen fired straight at Aouate's midriff before slicing the resultant rebound over the crossbar.

The Newcastle striker made amends within four minutes of the restart, however, as his 38th international goal settled any lingering English nerves.

Picking up Gareth Barry's through ball on the edge of the area, Owen swivelled on the spot before smashing a 20-yard drive beyond Aouate's left hand.

With England's midfielders producing arguably their best team performance under Steve McClaren, it was only a matter of time before their lead was extended further.

And Richards duly grabbed England's third goal as he opened his international account in the 66th minute.

The Manchester City defender met Barry's right-wing corner with a thumping downward header that flew beyond a helpless Aouate.

Owen almost extended England's lead even further three minutes from time but, while he successfully rounded Aouate after racing onto substitute Andrew Johnson's through ball, his goalbound effort was blocked by the back-tracking Yoav Ziv.

** READ A MORE DETAILED MATCH ANALYSIS IN MONDAY'S NORTHERN ECHO **