Pressure lifts for England

England's flawed World Cup challenge is alive and temporarily thriving after first half goals from Darren Anderton and David Beckham had sapped the venom from a potentially treacherous assignment in Lens last evening.

The reward is a meeting with Argentina in the knock out phase of the championship at St Etienne next Tuesday; it is not a prospect to fill Glen Hoddle with wide-eyed delight but is acceptable enough when measured against the alternative of an early journey home.

That, it has to be said, was never a likely scenario after the Colombians, all swagger but with little of substance, had succumbed with almost treasonable ease at a relatively early stage of the second half.

By that stage, Dario Gomez, the Colombian manager, had introduced three substitutes in what was tantamount to the last roll of the dice in a game which the South Americans had to win to stay in the competition. One could only guess at his inner feelings as he watched his restructured formation disintegrate in a manner which was, at times, astonishing.

Viewed in the light of the flimsy opposition, it may be unwise to attach too much credibility to this England success. What can be said with some certainty is that they got to the core of the game with impressive haste and, having struck twice in the space of 10 minutes, dug in so effectively that the threat of a Colombian recovery was always remote.

The less acceptable side of victory was their profligacy in the second half when Michael Owen, enterprising as ever, twice got through in one-on-one situations with the Colombian goalkeeper, Farid Mondragon, and twice failed to beat him.

Alan Shearer, too, had chances to embellish the scoreline but, disturbingly for Hoddle, the matador's thrust which once characterised his game was again but a distant memory. Wastage on this scale is unsustainable, and on England's ability to make the requisite adjustments will rest their hopes of a protracted stay here in France.

In a game in which so much attractive play outside the penalty area was undone by the lack of incision inside it, the two goals, it has to be said, fitted the importance of the occasion. The first in the 20th minute, came at a time when England, one suspected, were in some danger of being invaded by self-doubt after earlier chances had gone astray.

Jorge Bermudez, one of the few Colombians who didn't shrink from the challenge, made a headed clearance under pressure only to see the ball roll in the direction of Anderton. The Tottenham man, more than most, may have sensed the need to repay Hoddle's confidence in him and the ensuing shot, struck with power and accuracy, was sufficiently good to beat Mondragon at his near post.

The goal would act like soothing ointment on an open wound. Minute by minute, the tension eased from the legs and they were already beginning to string passes together with delightful fluency when Beckham hurled a thunderbolt from 30 yards to make the game safe.

The Manchester United player's ability in deadball situations can scarcely have gone unnoticed by the South Americans in their build-up to the game, but they were still caught unprepared as he curled a free kick over the wall and into the net.

An appraisal of England's defence ought to be made in the context of a wholly inadequate Colombian team in which Carlos Valderrama was nearly always anonymous and the front runners, Anthony De Avila and Leider Preciado, so ineffective, that both were replaced during the interval.

Yet, there was the encouragement for England of a much more authentic performance by Tony Adams and another big show from Sol Campbell, who decorated his contribution with a thrilling run, deep into the Colombian half, which evoked one of the loudest cheers of the night.

Graham Le Saux was less successful than in the first half of the Romanian game, but with Paul Ince, later to retire with a badly gashed shin, doing well in the anchor role, there was a much more balanced look to England's midfield formation.

The inability of Shearer and Owen to prosper in a game designed to give their talent full rope was disquieting, but overall that was about the only blemish on a display which should go some way towards settling jagged nerves in the camp.

With thousands of agitated fans locked outside the stadium and those inside it baying for success of any kind, it was a setting with few precedents and the tension pouring down on the players from the stands was reflected in the opening minutes when David Seaman, attempting the long kick out, stubbed his foot in the ground.

England got away with it in that instance, and from that uncertain start they grew in authority to the point where they ran the game with impressive composure for the remainder of the first half.

After stealing into the penalty area, Le Saux spurned a fine chance when Beckham's cross invited a decisive finish in the 19th minute. But even before the Colombians had time to celebrate that reprieve, Mondragon was stooping into his net to retrieve the ball after Anderton had delivered the early goal that Hoddle coveted.

Owen stood indicted of a bad miss in driving wide from eight yards, but in keeping with the pattern of the first goal, Beckham redeemed the error almost immediately.

Pained Colombian faces testified to the disillusionment of it all, and even when Anthony De Avila glided ghost like past Campbell he found himself confronted by three red shirts lining up to meet him.

Thereafter, the Colombians' ambition dwindled by the minute to the point where even 60-40 tackles were deemed unprofitable. The passion, if not England's sense of purpose, left the game.

Greater tests of character await Glen Hoddle's team in the quickening tempo of this championship, but for the present he can reflect on a mission undertaken in apprehension but discharged with some authority.