England have reached 2012 after their 2-2 draw in Montenegro. Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney was sent off and will now be banned for at least the first game England play in Poland and Ukraine next summer.

Such struggles seemed a world away as Fabio Capello's side eased into a 2-0 lead thanks to first-half strikes from Ashley Young and Darren Bent, but Elsad Zverotic gave his side hope with a deflected strike on the stroke of half-time.

After a flat first-half showing, Montenegro were clearly buoyed by that goal and were much improved in the second half.

Rooney was shown a straight red for a petulant kick on Miodrag Dzudovic before Andrija Delibasic headed home in stoppage time to earn Montenegro a draw that, combined with Switzerland's defeat to Wales in Swansea, guarantees a play-off spot.

England boss Fabio Capello had no complaints over Rooney's red card and told Sky Sports 1: "It surprised me, just in front of me he kicked the opponent.

"I think the red card is okay, when he lost the ball he kicked the opponent and for the next game he is suspended.

"He is an important player, but sometimes important players don't play well and can make mistakes. It will be a good lesson for him and also for the team."

On his side's overall display, Capello said: "We played really well for the first 35 minutes, in the last 10 minutes of the first half we played too relaxed and after they scored they had more chances to draw the game.

"We are really happy, we played this game to qualify for the Euros. That was our first goal when we started qualification for the Euros.

"The result worked out for both teams.

"After 35 minutes we played the football I don't like. You need to be focused to score more goals."