THE BEST thing about England's triumph was its defects. A relentless Fabio Capello will be happy in the knowledge that plenty of work is still needed, with all the improvement that implies. This 4-1 defeat of Croatia was not a night when everything dropped serendipitously into place.

Imperfections jutted out and a supporter would have been fatalistic if told that David James would get into trouble at crosses, that Ashley Cole would stagger as Darijo Srna and others drove at him, that Joe Cole would drop out of view and that Wayne Rooney's unreflecting desire to help would see him concede a foul near England's penalty area.

Several of the faults were fleeting, but some proved slower to fade. The irreproachable factor was England's attitude. There were spells when the competitiveness, for example, lay in the determination of Rio Ferdinand and John Terry to impose their will. All over the pitch there was an insistence on having the last word.

Capello stresses that his players have much to lose.

"I just say to the players that it is their second cap," he explained.

Nothing that happened before the qualifiers with Andorra and, now, Croatia is deemed to matter.

A few members of the opposition on Wednesday cannot count on being in the first team for their clubs, yet still this generation had extended the sequence of unbeaten qualifiers at the Maksimir Stadium that began in 1994. England set about showing Slaven Bilic's side that those inner resources were exhausted.

His team were powerless to stop Theo Walcott, whose shrewd elevation to the first team must now have brought complete trust in Capello's judgment. The hat-trick contained ruthless finishing that was more of a surprise than the speed on the right that so unsettled Danijel Pranjic, a full-back who wants to overlap.

Walcott will henceforth be shadowed by his celebrity.

"I know," agreed an amused Capello. "We have created a problem for Arsenal, not for me. Theo is young with a good future, but we have to help him. At this moment, when all the people in newspapers and television are talking about the team, we have to keep our feet on the ground."

On Wednesday, the teenager was edgy at the outset but did not have his anxieties compounded by an intimidatory atmosphere. The fire in the hearts of the crowd had been banked in comparison with the emotional conflagration when England were last at the stadium, for the 2-0 loss in 2006. While the atmosphere was exciting, it was not intimidatory.

With 20 minutes gone Srna was clapping his hands and imploring supporters to increase the volume. The match was goalless then, but Croatia sensed trouble ahead. They were the ones with the brittle temperament.

England were only 1-0 in front when Robert Kovac was dismissed for the reckless smashing of an elbow into the head of Joe Cole, but the physicality was the expression of a panic already entrenched in Croatian ranks.

There was a calm to Capello's team. It registered in England's hogging of 61 per cent of the possession.

The side is not supreme because of one result and there will be setbacks to come, but maybe Capello will outdo his predecessors by getting the players to perform as reliably as they do for their clubs.

The manager reports that there have been discussions daily with the players during training.

"Usually (with clubs) I am trying to change something over one month," he said. "I tried to change something with England over 10 days. I saw something this evening."

An outcome of Wednesday's sort strengthens Capello's hand. How, for example, can the injured Steven Gerrard assume after this that he will be reinstated for the next World Cup qualifier, against Kazakhstan at Wembley on October 11th? The manager, too, takes nothing for granted. As with so many of the dominant figures in his profession, he was already detaching himself from an outstanding win while everyone else wanted to cling to it.

How he would have hated to hear the talk start of England's chances at the 2010 World Cup. His frame of mind is unyielding in its practicality. "For me," Capello said, "there is only the result. We have six points, like Ukraine."

He is probably in earnest when he promises that everyone is forever on trial. "When I choose the squad I pick the best player at that moment," Capello insisted.

It may have been footballers fearing for their futures who scared the wits out of Croatia.

Guardian Service