England back on track

It is not so long ago that I was writing about the apparent transformation in the England cricket team and now it appears it must be catching following the England football team's humbling of Croatia. After the functionary display against Andorra the previous Saturday there was nothing to suggest such a performance was within the side's scope.

However, there we were watching an England side passing the ball and keeping possession, which to be honest, is a very rare treat indeed. Under McLaren and Eriksson it looked like they were trying to achieve the exact opposite of this, much to the opposition's pleasure. And, this was not against a poor side but Croatia no less, ranked five in the world and not undeservedly.

In fact, since Croatia secured independence they were unbeaten at home stretching back over 30 competitive games so to humble them 4-1 is no mean achievement. They were unlucky to lose out to Turkey in the European Championships and under Slavan Bilic they have become a top international team as England found out in their last qualifying campaign.

Capello's starting line-up was made easier after Steven Gerrard pulled out for an operation which meant that Barry could play with Lampard in the central midfield role. How much the Liverpool man, who was fit enough to be on the bench on Saturday against Manchester United, might regret being unavailable only time will tell.

At last the England shirt actually means something and if not given a priority then players will be worried about their inclusion in the manager's plans.

The main choice, though, was about who would play on the right side of midfield and many expected that safety and experience would come first and Beckham would get the nod. Not so though, as Theo Walcott was given his chance to perform on his biggest stage to date and as we know, he did not disappoint.

It has been a strange journey for the Arsenal striker since Wenger paid £10 million (BD6.8 million) to Southampton, not least the random selection for the 2006 World Cup squad. His appearances for Arsenal have been fleeting and although there have been some magical moments he has also looked a little lightweight with limited end product.

His hat-trick against Croatia was a fantastic display of pace and finishing but more importantly he enabled a Heskey and Rooney strike force to stay in touch with the midfield. This is something that Beckham and Bentley have failed to achieve during their most recent efforts.

Of course, it is impossible to know whether this is a one-off performance or at last his promise will turn into regular world-class displays but at least now a lack of confidence cannot be blamed. He has now arrived both domestically and internationally, defenders everywhere will be looking to put one over him, so it is time to see how good he really is.

Croatia started off the game very brightly as you would expect and it looked like it was going to be a long night for the England players chasing the ball but somehow they managed to gain a composure usually lacking and they arrested the initiative away from the home side. Capello has obviously brought something to this team - whether it is belief in their abilities or just a system they can work to - and although it is too early to say which, there was definitely a new tempo and confidence.

It is also too early to say the corner has been turned as the thrashing of Germany in Munich proved and that for much of this game they played against 10 men. But this was a fine performance and bodes well for fixtures against Belarus and Kazakhstan in October.

Much has been made of the Wembley factor both in terms of intimidating the home side and inspiring the opposition but the main reason the crowd has been getting on their backs was because of how badly they have been playing. Whilst some of this can be put down to nerves it would be wrong to say that it was the defining factor.

It has been obvious to most onlookers that the abilities of this group of players are well below the hype that has followed them but that does not mean they cannot win a big tournament. They are certainly good enough to do that and the only question is; has Capello finally found the method to get them there.

We shall see, but he has made a very encouraging start and because of the way they played there is for once more realistic optimism than usual.