Now that England have become a repertory company touring the provinces, it would be as well if they remembered their lines while trying not to fall over the props. At Anfield on Saturday they just about made the final curtain safely, but it was a close-run thing.
The victory over Finland was achieved because the juvenile lead, David Beckham, suddenly grew into his captain's armband, and an old stager, David Seaman, responded adroitly to his cue.
As a result, England will set off for Tirana today confident of beating Albania on Wednesday with rather more to spare than was the case with the Germans in Leverkusen on Saturday night.
At Anfield, however, had Seaman's sense of anticipation not found him hurtling towards the near post in time to keep out Jari Litmanen's late header, England's chances of qualifying would be not so much thin as anorexic.
For manager Sven Goran Eriksson the principle satisfaction will lie in knowing that he has established an early beachhead in his team selection. This is no small achievement. After England's worst start to a World Cup qualifying tournament, and with the squad in disarray once Kevin Keegan resigned following Germany's 1-0 win at Wembley in October, Eriksson had to carry out emergency roadside repairs.
Maybe he has yet to find his best components, but at least the moving parts have coughed and sputtered back into life. There was even the possibility of that rarest of events, an unchanged England team, for the Albania game.
However, Liverpool's Steven Gerrard pulled out yesterday with a sore back. Nicky Butt, briefly a substitute at Anfield, should now move in alongside Paul Scholes.
The mere fact that a readymade replacement is on standby is a tribute to the speed with which Eriksson has restored commonsense to the selection process.
Getting a captain's performance out of David Beckham is not a bad way to start. Just when Anfield was wondering whether Teddy Sheringham would have to come on to take hold of a game which was slipping away, the captain proved worthy of his pips.
Previously Beckham had only wandered vaguely into the middle from the right wing, but now, with an air of exasperation, he seized the ball in the Finland half and played it out to Gary Neville, who neatly sidestepped Harri Ylonen near the byline before passing low to a third Manchester United man, Andy Cole. His indifferent touch ruled out a shot, but he fed the ball into Michael Owen, whose crisp half-volley brought the scores level.
Five minutes after half-time a typically strong run from Steve McManaman in the inside-left position threw Finland's cover on to the back foot. From his pass Scholes' quick thinking found Beckham in space to his right and, though the angle was acute, his shot, taking a slight deflection off Sami Hyypia's toecap, gave Antti Niemi no chance.
But for Seaman, however, the Finland captain Jari Litmanen would have stolen the show and the three points on his home club ground.
Two minutes before England drew level his exquisite firsttime pass sent Jonatan Johansson clear of Rio Ferdinand for a shot which Seaman somehow plucked out of the air.
England had fallen behind shortly before the half-hour through a chapter of accidents. Rio Ferdinand failed to mark Aki Riilahti at a corner, allowing the midfielder a free header which was deflected past Seaman off Gary Neville's knee.
Meanwhile, German coach Rudi Voller praised his team's fighting spirit as they scraped past minnows Albania 2-1 with an 88th-minute goal from Miroslav Klose to widen the gap at the top of the qualifying group.
The Albanians looked to be heading for an unlikely point in Leverkusen when Bleda Kola volleyed a 65th-minute shot from outside the area after Sebastian Deisler had put the Germans 1-0 up on 50 minutes.
"Against a solid Albanian team which played well and had beaten Greece 2-0, don't forget, our victory was a testament to our fighting spirit," said Voller. "The boys believed in themselves right up to the final whistle."
ENGLAND: Seaman, Powell, Ferdinand, Campbell, Gary Neville, McManaman (Heskey 72), Gerrard, Scholes, Beckham, Andy Cole (Fowler 82), Owen (Butt 90). Subs Not Used: Phil Neville, Martyn, Brown, Sheringham. Booked: Scholes, McManaman. Goals: Owen 43, Beckham 50.
FINLAND: Niemi, Pasanen, Hyypia, Tihinen, Ylonen (Helin 89), Nurmela (Forssell 63), Wiss, Riihilahti, Kolkka (Kuqi 63), Litmanen, Johansson. Subs Not Used: Moilanen, Nylund, Kuivasto, Gronlund. Booked: Nurmela, Hyypia, Ylonen, Pasanen. Goals: Gary Neville 27 og.
Referee: V Ivanov (Russia).
