England captain Wayne Rooney leads his team-mates on early flight to Ljubljana ahead of qualifier against Slovenia

England face Slovenia in a European Championship qualifier on Sunday
The squad flew to the capital Ljubljana from Luton on Saturday morning
Wayne Rooney led a squad who looked to be in high spirits for the qualifier
England know a sixth consecutive competitive win would all-but seal progress

Published:
10:12 GMT, 13 June 2015

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Updated:
11:27 GMT, 13 June 2015

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England have departed for Ljubljana ahead of their European Championship qualifier against Slovenia after boarding their flight from London Luton airport on Saturday morning.

The Three Lions face qualifying Group E’s second-place side at 5pm on Sunday knowing that a win would all-but confirm their place in next summer’s tournament in France.

And having trained at Luton Town’s training base on Friday, captain Wayne Rooney led his team-mates off the tarmac ahead of their two-hour trip to the Slovenian capital.

England captain Wayne Rooney leads his team-mates as they board their flight to Slovenia from Luton

Theo Walcott, Joe Hart and Jack Wilshere (left to right) were all in high spirits ahead of Sunday’s game

England have been faultless in their qualifying campaign so far, picking up five wins from five games – including the group’s most difficult fixture away in Switzerland.

That has them six points clear of nearest challengers Slovenia and the Swiss. A win on Sunday would give them a nine-point cushion inside the guaranteed-qualifying top two spots with four games left.

Vice-captain Gary Cahill spoke of his determination for England to finish the season unbeaten and he wants to end the season on an upward trajectory to boost hopes ahead of France 2016.

‘We have started to build something here but without getting too ahead of ourselves we have done really well, but next season will be a great season,’ Cahill said.

Jack Wilshere was a stand-out performer in last week’s 0-0 draw with Republic of Ireland in Dublin and he could be a key figure again in Ljubljana.

With Roy Hodgson’s squad hit by injuries in the striking department, the focus will be on the Arsenal man to provide a forward impetus from midfield despite recent criticism.

The England trio, along with Raheem Sterling (back) will be hoping to have an impact against Slovenia

Everton pair Ross Barkley and Phil Jagielka head for the stairs as they board the flight to Ljubljana

Manager Roy Hodgson will hope his side fare better than in last week’s drab 0-0 draw with Republic of Ireland

ENGLAND’S REMAINING FIXTURES

Sunday, June 14: Slovenia (A)

Saturday, September 5: San Marino (A)

Tuesday, September 8: Switzerland (H)

Friday, October 9: Estonia (H)

Monday, October 12: Lithuania (A)

Wilshere’s injury problems had been blamed in some circles on his swashbuckling style but the 23-year-old says he won’t be changing his ways, something that could benefit England in Slovenia.

‘When I was injured, I read a few people who said that,’ he said in response to questions about a change in approach.

‘I thought “maybe they are right. Maybe I should just change it a little bit”. But in my first game back, naturally I just want to pick the ball up and run with it.

‘I can’t change that. I can work on a few things maybe. If you look at the best dribblers in the world, (Lionel) Messi, (Andreas) Iniesta, when they are running with the ball it is always close to them so maybe I could work on that. But I definitely won’t be changing my game.’