Wayne Rooney scores in England's 1-1 draw with Poland

England's 1-1 away draw to Poland is an acceptable result, as it's likely to be their toughest fixture in qualifying for Brazil 2014, but the performance was disappointing. Wayne Rooney, one of three Manchester United players to start this match for the Three Lions, scored his side's lone goal in the 31st minute when his header from a Steven Gerrard corner was glanced into the back of the net. Michael Carrick started as well but he failed to establish himself as an influential part of the midfield battle. Tom Cleverley was deployed in a narrow left-sided midfield role and while he had a few positive moments, it was partly due to his narrow positioning that Poland enjoyed success attacking down own their right flank. Danny Welbeck also came on in the 67th minute as a substitute for Jermaine Defoe. Carrick and Cleverley went the full 90 minutes while Rooney was substituted off in the 73rd minute.

The international break is now over after this England game, one that was delayed a day due to torrential rainfall making the pitch in Warsaw unplayable yesterday, and all fifteen United players called into international duty have arrived back to Manchester or on their way. Sir Alex Ferguson's men soon face a challenging and congested fixture list -- home to Stoke City on Saturday, home to Braga next midweek in a UEFA Champions League tie, and then a trip to Stamford Bridge to face Chelsea the following weekend. The gaffer likely has an idea on how he wants to juggle his squad while considering match-ups, tactics, and adequate rest for the players. With only two days of rest, and a long trip from Poland to England to consider as well, it'll be interesting to see how Rooney, Carrick, and Cleverley are used -- each of these three players started two games for England in the past six days. Fergie has also tended to rest the likes of Antonio Valencia and Javier Hernandez (Chicharito) after international breaks due to their long travels from the Americas.