PARIS, Oct 9 (AFP) - England brushed aside feeble Wales 2-0 to take another step closer to the 2006 World Cup finals on Saturday but neighbours Scotland lost 1-0 to Norway to pile even more pressure on coach Berti Vogts.
On a day when 23 ties were taking placing in Europe, it was Sven-Goran Eriksson's men who were taking the early plaudits with an assured performance at Old Trafford where goals from Frank Lampard and skipper David Beckham sent them top of Group Six.
With defender Rio Ferdinand returning to the national side after an eight-month suspension and with Eriksson fielding a bold three-man attack of Wayne Rooney, Michael Owen and Jermain Defoe, the result was never in doubt and the winning margin should have been more convincing.
Beckham celebrated his return to Old Trafford with one of his finest goals in an England shirt to add to Frank Lampard's fourth-minute opener.
Picking up a loose ball in the inside-left channel in the 76th minute, 35 yards from goal, Beckham struck a curling, dipping shot over Paul Jones and into the top far corner of the net.
"I was very pleased with the performance," said Eriksson. "Wales defended very well, they closed all the spaces but we did a good professional job.
"We played with three strikers, had good balance and could have scored more goals."
Wales were horribly outclassed and now have to pin their hopes on finishing second in the group to book a play-off place.
"We were just a little short today," admitted Wales boss Mark Hughes. "England are a good international team and it's no disgrace to be beaten by them. The lads are hurting and their pride is hurting. Now we must look to Wednesday (against Poland in Cardiff) and hope for second place in the group."
England, who next face Azerbaijan in Baku on Wednesday, will be without Beckham who is suspended after being booked for a reckless tackle on Ben Thatcher. He also ended the day undergoing X-rays on a broken rib.
In Glasgow, former Tottenham striker Steffen Iversen scored from the penalty spot to give his side a 1-0 win over Scotland at Hampden Park.
Scotland boss Berti Vogts' position was under pressure after a disappointing goalless draw with Slovenia in their opening qualifier.
Iversen, now bat Valarenga, tapped in the 55th-minute spot-kick after James McFadden was sent off for stopping a goal-bound Claus Lundekvam header with his hand.
"We played so well, we were very unlucky. I am very proud of my team - they gave everything," said Vogts after the Group Five clash.
"We put a lot of pressure on Norway, who are a very good team. The spirit and organisation was good, only the result was wrong."
The Czech Republic, who lost their opening Group One game in the Netherlands, got their campaign back on track with a 1-0 win over Romania in Prague thanks to a 36th minute Jan Koller penalty.
Romania had gone into the match with a perfect nine points from three games.
Finland beat Armenia 3-1 in Tampere and went top on goal difference with two goals coming from Ipswich Town's Shefki Kuqi.
In Group Three, Slovakia extended their lead at the top with a 4-1 win over Latvia in Bratislava while Russia stayed in touch thanks to a 4-0 win in Luxembourg where Dmitri Sychev grabbed a hat-trick.
In Group Eight, Sweden won their second match in three games with a 3-0 defeat of Hungary in Stockholm where Fredrik Ljungberg, Henrik Larsson and Anders Svensson were on the scoresheet.