England's Wayne Rooney controls the ball during their Euro 2016 qualifying soccer match against Estonia at the Le Coq Arena in Tallinn on Sunday.

AFP/Tallinn

Wayne Rooney spared Roy Hodgson's blushes as the England captain's fine free-kick secured a 1-0 win against 10-man Estonia in a hard-fought Euro 2016 qualifier in Tallinn on Sunday.

Hodgson had taken a significant gamble by leaving out Raheem Sterling after he complained of feeling tired in training and England looked impotent without the teenage Liverpool midfielder for long periods at the Le Coq Arena.

Even after Estonia captain Ragnar Klavan was dismissed for a second booking early in the second half, Hodgson's side still laboured to see off the Baltic minnows.

But they finally made the breakthrough thanks to Manchester United striker Rooney, who curled home a free-kick with 17 minutes remaining to maintain England's 100% record after three Group E matches.

Rooney's moment of inspiration took him to 43 international goals - within one of Jimmy Greaves and only six behind record holder Bobby Charlton's tally of 49.

After winning their opening two qualifiers at a canter, England had boldly declared their desire to win all 10 group matches.

They remain on course to fulfil that ambition, but this was hardly the kind of dynamic display Hodgson would have hoped for from his youthful line-up.

Hodgson made three changes to the team that beat San Marino 5-0 on Thursday, with Sterling replaced by Liverpool colleague Adam Lallana, while Leighton Baines returned in place of Kieran Gibbs at left-back and Fabian Delph took over from James Milner in midfield.

The part-timers from San Marino barely made England break sweat in midweek, but Estonia, ranked 81st in FIFA's world rankings, represented a step up in class.

Even so, Hodgson had insisted England could have no excuses for failing to beat the unheralded hosts.