The band belted out Rule Britannia, the packed crowd roared their approval and an air of expectation filled Wembley stadium.
England took another stride towards the World Cup with a 3-1 victory against Mexico.
Winning, as the saying goes, is a habit and that is not a bad habit to be in with less than three weeks to go before England's first group game against the USA.
So momentum is ratcheting up nicely.
Yet the frustrated body language of England manager Fabio Capello on the Wembley touchline, wild gesticulations, steely stares and dark grimaces, also told another story.
Mexico scythed their way through England's defence far too often for Capello's liking. That was worrying.
But first the positives.
And numbers one and two are the first two goal scorers, Ledley King and Peter Crouch.
When you have dodgy knees like King you have to use your head and he has done so brilliantly in salvaging a career with Tottenham when he cannot train between matches.
There were those who thought King should be nowhere near this England squad. They recognised his ability but believed he was too much of a liability at the world's most prestigious football competition.
Well, King has had his personal trainer with him this past week. He has swum. He has paced himself in light workouts.
And he showed, in playing the entire match, that he is the quality reinforcement Capello cannot afford not to take to South Africa. He even scored with his head to set the momentum rolling.
But if King booked his plane ticket then so too did Crouch. Not a Capello favourite but you cannot argue with his 21st goal in 38 matches for his country. You cannot leave those goals behind, even if the one he bagged at Wembley was from all of one foot, the ball having been tipped initially onto the bar from Wayne Rooney's header.
We knew about Crouch of course. We knew about King's quality, although it was comforting to see him come through so comfortably.
Now we also know that goalkeeper Robert Green also has what it takes, the West Ham man making two brilliant saves from Arsenal's Carlos Vela. More than that he looked assured, like a man confident he could slip seamlessly into the number one slot which presumably will go to David James.
But if Glen Johnson, who did himself no harm with a man-of-the-match performance, scored the third goal just after half-time with a ripping left-footed strike England's other full-back, Everton's Leighton Baines, looked decidedly out of his depth at times.
And that was what this match was all about. It was not exactly the experimental fixture we had been led to believe. Rooney, for instance, was not tried up front as a lone striker, Jermain Defoe coming on at half-time to replace Crouch.
It was more about Capello confirming that the way England played throughout an impressive qualifying campaign is the way he has decided to play in the World Cup.
No fanciful changes of mind. No last-ditch gambles. Strong and steady, you might say, rather than daring.
So why Capello's frustrated body language? It was because he knows Mexico could have scored three or four. They could have punished England so much more for lapses in concentration and for a lack of quality defending, which allowed West Ham's Guillermo Franco to grab their only goal.
Capello will comfort himself with the fact that John Terry and Ashley Cole were sitting in the stand, rested after their FA Cup final exertions.
England will need them. In fact, nothing about this game changed the common consensus. If England have their first XI fit and on form for every game they have a chance of progressing deep into the World Cup.
But if they have to turn to Baines and Tom Huddlestone and even Michael Carrick then all bets are off.
ไม่มีความคิดเห็น:
แสดงความคิดเห็น