England 3 - 0 Russia

• 49

  Sychev goes close again as he just fails to connect with a Yuri Zhirkov low cross into the six-yard box

• 48

  Sychev finds space to the right of goal but drags a low shot just wide of the far post - that would have put the cat amongst the pigeons so early in the second half

• 46

  Russia get the second half underway as a wall of noise echoes around Wembley

• 45

  HALF-TIME: ENGLAND 2-0 RUSSIA

• 45

  One minute of time will be added to the first period

• 44

  Russia have shown flashes of attacking promise but this half really belongs to England and the deadly Owen in particular

• 43

  Joe Cole gets a stern talking to from the referee for a needless tug on the shirt of his marker on the halfway line

• 42

  The home fans are in fine voice tonight and you can see why - this has been a really rousing first-half showing from England

• 40

  Semshov comes off for Vladimir Bystrov as Hiddink does indeed make a first-half change

• 39

  Zhirkov goes for glory from the left corner of the box but ends up with egg on his face as he slashes wildly at the ball and it balloons high and wide

• 38

  Hiddink is clearly unhappy at his team's tactics and will make an unusual change before the half-time interval

• 36

  Zhirkov has Robinson scampering across his line worried about a cross that eventually drops to nobody and is cleared

• 34

  England are really enjoying this now as Russia stand off and allow them to spray the ball around with confidence in the midfield area

• 32

  That was a glorious finish and provided further evidence that Owen is back to his best after a lengthy injury nightmare - Heskey also deserves a great deal of credit for his set-up play

• 31

  ENGLAND 2-0 RUSSIA: Heskey wins a high up and under and the ball drops to OWEN who lashes a superb half-volley over the keeper and into the back of the net from just inside the penalty area

• 30

  Joe Cole sets himself for a left-foot shot from 25 yards which takes a slight deflection before being beaten away well by Malafeev

• 29

  Dmitry Sychev almost gets on the end of a near-perfect measured cross that would surely have resulted in a goal but to England's relief it drifts just over his head

• 27

  England are zipping the ball around when they have possession and this really is an enthralling match that could go either way

• 25

  England are clearly on the back foot at the moment as Russia enjoy their best spell of possession

• 24

  Bilyaletdinov draws a good save Robinson diving low to his right as the Russia midfielder tries his luck from 20 yards following a well-worked throw-in routine

• 22

  Russia have overcome their early nerves and are starting to become more of a force as the half progresses

• 20

  Konstantin Zyrianov fires the ball home from eight yards after it breaks loose in the penalty area but the referee quite correctly rules it out for a handball as the Russia forward controlled it illegally

• 18

  Barry dinks a 30-yard pass over the top looking for the run of Heskey but the Wigan striker has strayed a few yards offside

• 17

  Arshavin steals a yard on Ashley Cole and latches on to a simple ball over the top but the striker turns and allows Barry to cut out his pass inside

• 16

  Richards meets a corner with a diving header which is blocked by two red shirts before Terry goes down following a blow to the head - the captain will be okay to continue though

• 15

  Shaun Wright-Phillips and Richards look to have struck up an immediate understanding down the England right - Gary Neville and David Beckham will be concerned!

• 14

  Guus Hiddink looks a concerned man on the Russia bench and well he might as England have dominated the opening quarter of an hour

• 13

  Diniyar Bilyaletdinov tries an ambitious shot from a tight angle that finds the side-netting with Paul Robinson covering

• 11

  Heskey and Owen both miss glorious chances to make it two as the former's low shot is blocked by the body of Viacheslav Malafeev before the latter slips with the goal at his mercy and the rebound is cleared

• 10

  Heskey is proving a real handful in the opposition box as he is winning everything in the air at the moment

• 8

  That was England's first real attack but the fans packed inside the new national stadium don't care

• 7

  ENGLAND 1-0 RUSSIA: OWEN makes no mistake from six yards as the ball drops to him from Barry's cross after John Terry fails to make contact with his head - that was a trademark finish from the diminutive striker

• 6

  Heskey wins his first knock down in the Russia box but Michael Owen is too close to his strike partner and the visitors clear the danger

• 4

  Gareth Barry has to clear the ball behind as Andrei Arshavin gets beyond Rio Ferdinand too easily and looks to pull the ball back towards the penalty spot

• 3

  Yuri Zhirkov tests Micah Richards with a strong run down the Russia left but the England full-back recovers and clears the danger

• 2

  Heskey goes down holding his thigh after a heavy blow but should be okay to continue after a brief worry

• 1

  England kick-off the match in front of a virtual full house of 90,000 at Wembley

• 0

  A quick look down the line during the anthems suggests England are really up for this one - and they need to be with a place in next summer's European Championship on the line

• 0

  Alan Smith has also replaced David Bentley on the bench in the only other change to the 18-man squad

• 0

  Emile Heskey has retained his place ahead of Peter Crouch, who is named among the substitutes on his return from suspension

• 0

  England coach Steve McClaren has kept faith with the same starting 11 that defeated Israel 3-0 on Saturday

• 0

  Guus Hiddink?s Russia are currently one point and one place better off than England in the final qualifying slot in the Group E table

• 0

  England take on Russia in a potentially pivotal Euro 2008 qualifier at Wembley tonight (kick-off 8pm)