Warm applause fluttered around Wembley as Harry Kane slowly jogged up the touchline in the first half , but on the pitch Danny Welbeck was putting in a performance to indicate he is in no mood to step aside anytime soon . Roy Hodgson ’ s selection of Welbeck ahead of the in-form Kane in England Euro 2016 qualifier against Lithuania divided opinion across the nation ahead of kick-off . Should he have started the hot-shot Spurs striker , joint-top in the Premier League with Diego Costa on 19 and with 29 in all competitions ? Or Welbeck who has been performing well for the national team but in-and-out of Arsenal ’ s starting line-up , struggling to eight goals in 34 ? Danny Welbeck leads the celebrations after putting England 2-0 ahead against Lithuania on Friday . Welbeck 's header deflects into the back of the net to send England into a commanding lead . Welbeck is congratulated by England captain Wayne Rooney after scoring his sixth of the qualfying campaign . Former England striker Ian Wright thought the former . ‘ Gutted that Harry Kane 's not starting , ’ he said before kick-off , ‘ 29 goals , form of his life. ’ But within six minutes , the Arsenal man had justified the choice with a huge hand in the opener . Welbeck started on the left , but was to the right of goal when he nutmegged Lithuania ’ s Tadas Kijanskas with some nifty footwork and fired a shot across goal , which keeper Giedrius Arlauskis could only parry into the path of Wayne Rooney to head in . He almost set up a second on 19 minutes , again getting to the byline on the right before crossing deep to Rooney , who looped a header back across goal and on to the post . Welbeck was bright and alive around the box and got the goal his first-half performance deserved just before the break . Jordan Henderson crossed from the left and he diverted it in off a shoulder via a deflection . They all count . Welbeck caused the Lithuanian defence problems all evening and justified his selection . Welbeck is congratulated by former Manchester united team-mate Wayne Rooney after doubling the lead . Kane may be the latest boy wonder , yet Welbeck is the top-scorer in this Euro 2016 qualifying campaign . His goal moved him to six for the tournament , clear of Israel ’ s Omar Damari on five . Doubles against Slovenia and Switzerland , a goal versus San Marino and another against Lithuania is not a bad return . Say what you will about the strength of the opposition , but players can only score against what is put in front of them . Hodgson certainly recognised his value , choosing Welbeck as one of only four players - alongside Rooney , Gary Cahill and Nathaniel Clyne - to start from the last team he picked . Dat Guy Welbz , as he was dubbed by Ravel Morrison providing a nickname that went viral , did not let his manager down . He was close to adding another on 41 minutes , riding a challenge and bending a shot towards the top right corner from the edge of the box which was narrowly over . Welbeck is the first to congratulate debutant Harry Kane after scoring two minutes after coming on . Welbeck celebrates with Rooney after he turns home the rebound after the Arsenal striker 's effort was saved . And again in the 54th , beating two men on his way into the penalty area to the right of goal and powering a shot on target which was pushed out for a corner . He would surely have had a second had Raheem Sterling not arrived in the box a fraction earlier to tap in England ’ s third . This may only have been Lithuania , the team ranked 94th in the world , but Welbeck ’ s passing was crisp and accurate , his runs inventive and movement fluid . An indication of his confidence was a clever back-heel flick in the middle of a quick England passing exchange early in the second half . England ’ s front three of Welbeck , Rooney and Raheem Sterling were swapping places all evening causing havoc to Lithuania ’ s defenders . Welbeck was substituted for Theo Walcott in the 77th minute , but the sponsors had seen enough to vote him their man-of-the-match . Kane may have scored within two minutes of coming on , but , for now , Welbeck will be going nowhere in the big games .
England beat Lithuania 4-0 in a Euro 2016 qualifier at Wembley on Friday . The match was played as part of the qualifying campaign for next year's tournament and saw Wales come from behind to win 2-1.