Obama's comments came after the G-20 meeting in London, England -- which Obama called "a success" of "nations coming together, working out their differences, and moving boldly forward" -- and on the eve of a NATO summit in Strasbourg marking that organization's 60th anniversary.
England travel to Switzerland for another qualifier on Tuesday and also face Montenegro and Wales in Group G, as they bid to qualify for the 2012 finals in Poland and Ukraine.