Night of redemption for World Cup hitmen

Deadly hitmen Michael Owen and Thierry Henry stunningly shot down rumours of their international demise as both men found the target to keep their countries on the road to the 2006 World Cup finals. Owen, skipper for the day in the absence of the suspended David Beckham, scored the only goal of the game as England beat Azerbaijan 1-0 in windswept Baku while Henry added France's second goal in a 2-0 win against Cyprus. It was a golden night for World Cup strikers throughout Europe as Manchester United's Ruud van Nistelrooy returned to the Dutch side and scored twice in a 3-1 win over Finland while Robbie Keane set a new Irish scoring record with a brace in the 2-0 win over the Faroes in Dublin. In Parma, Francesco Totti put his critics in their place as he also grabbed two as Italy squeezed past Belarus 4-3. Stand-in skipper Owen's 28th goal for England was enough to secure a 1-0 win over Azerbaijan and keep England on top of Group Six with 10 points from four matches.