INTERNATIONAL

• Halftime report England vs. Switzerland

  
  

  Coimbra City, Portugal (Sports Network) - England overcame a slow start and used a Wayne Rooney strike to take a 1-0 lead over Switzerland into the locker room.

  Rooney, 18, became the youngest player to score at a European Championship when he finished a beautifully constructed play in the 23rd minute of the important Group B match at Coimbra Stadium.

  England captain David Beckham started the play when he spotted an unmarked Michael Owen in the left side of the area. Beckham's pass swung over to Owen, who brought down the ball nicely before chipping it toward the head of Rooney in front of the net. The youngster had no trouble making history from that distance, easily giving England a 1-0 lead.

  Switzerland actually had the better of the play for the first 20 minutes. They came closest to scoring when a swinging corner was almost accidently put into his own net by England's Steve Gerrard. The ball just went over the crossbar to keep the match scoreless, until Rooney's goal just minutes later.

  Even after England took the lead, Switzerland continued to pressure. Countless attempts by the Swiss, however, missed the target and allowed the Three Lions to remain ahead.

  The match is crucial to both teams' chances of making it out of group play and into the quarterfinals of the competition. England is coming off a heartbreaking loss to France where they conceded two goals in the waning moments of a 2-1 loss to the defending champions.

  Switzerland came into this match on a more positive note after earning a scoreless draw against Croatia, despite playing with just 10 men for most of the second half.

  06/17 12:51:03 ET