Wayne Rooney, who saw red during England's last visit to Montenegro, has given his nation a much-needed 1-0 lead in Montenegro.

The Three Lions started the contest on the front foot as Rooney had the chance to grab the opening goal after three minutes.

The Manchester United striker launched a chip over the Montenegro goalkeeper after England managed to latch onto a lose ball given away by Mirko Vucinic

The visitors were able to feed the ball into the feet of the striker, but his effort fell a width wide from the post.

Minutes later, Rooney was able to hand England the lead courtesy of a whipping ball from Steven Gerrard from the corner, which allowed the frontman to meet the ball with his head and hammer it into the back of the net.

Following a tentative spell, the Three Lions began to take control of the fixture with Gerrard, who attempted to score with a rebound effort following an averted cross from James Milner, but the shot was blocked by Montenegro's defence.

The home side were able to throw a number of passes together towards the closing stages of the first half, which resulted in a 35-yard shot from Zverotic getting blocked by Joleon Lescott.

Despite showing threat while going forward, the home side were unable to snatch an equaliser before the close of the first half.