England striker Jermain Defoe made a scoring return to the international stage and substitute Jamie Vardy added a second goal as the hosts labored to a 2-0 victory over Lithuania in World Cup qualifying Group F on Sunday, Reuters reported. Defoe, making his first appearance for nearly 3-1/2 years, fired lackluster England ahead in the 21st minute, at Wembley, but Gareth Southgate's team struggled to finish off a Lithuania side who are 93 places lower in the FIFA rankings. England survived a couple of worrying moments and had to wait until the 66th minute to double their lead when Defoe's replacement Vardy finished neatly shortly after coming on. It was hardly an emphatic performance but the result kept England in charge of Group F with 13 points from five games, five more than Slovenia, visiting Scotland, later, tonight.
