DEFEAT FOR ARGENTINA, BUT A routing for those such as Sir Alex Ferguson, who claim that international football has been usurped by the Champions League as the pinnacle of the sport. If a friendly match can generate this much excitement, imagine how the country would be consumed by a reunion of England and Argentina in a fight to the death next summer.

Next up for England is the World Cup draw in Leipzig on December 9 and, suddenly enthused about the prospects of Sven-Göran Eriksson’s team, millions will tune in to watch men in suits pluck balls from pots. England expect to be among the top eight seeds and so they should be, particularly after victory against a side ranked second in the world by Fifa.

While the heart longed for the finals to start tomorrow after an exhilarating evening in Geneva, the head was urging caution. “I hope the press don’t say that we are going to win the World Cup,” Eriksson said in the aftermath of victory. The Times is happy to oblige the level-headed Swede.

The confidence of the players swelled on Saturday night but those whose job it is to forecast England’s prospects know that to do so before the squad has been counted in next May is tantamount to gambling on a poker hand before you have even picked up the cards. Losing Steven Gerrard on the eve of the 2002 World Cup finals felt like a kick in the guts. An injury to Wayne Rooney would double England’s odds in Germany in an instant.

Little known in Argentina even if Diego Maradona and Robbie Williams chatted about him on the former’s show recently, Rooney’s legend spread across another part of the globe on Saturday. Whether rampaging like a bull or floating a delicate chip on to Roberto Abbondanzieri’s finger-tips, the 20-year-old demonstrated skills that could have been nurtured in a Buenos Aires barrio rather than on the mean streets of Liverpool.

Opponents know that England have a born match-winner, but they will also be aware that, in the reliance on Rooney, Eriksson’s men are more vulnerable than most of the contenders for Brazil’s crown. Even aside from the prodigy, Eriksson misses members of his first XI more than he would care to admit.

That is assuming, of course, that he knows his best XI and to say so with any certainty is now even more difficult. Eriksson said that Ledley King had done “OK, he did well”, but he struggled to mask his doubts. No one could declare that the Tottenham Hotspur captain had made a strong case for inclusion. Although nor will his national coach want to abandon the idea.

The trouble is, filling the role of defensive midfield player can hardly come instinctively when you play centre half every day at your club. By the time King had worked out where he was meant to be, Juan Román Riquelme had played a quick one-two and disappeared.

“I’ve never come up against the likes of Riquelme before — not in midfield anyway — and he’s a top-class player,” King said, raising his own concerns. “I knew that before the game and although he seems to play at his own pace you still can’t get near him, which is strange.

“They had players who like to drop in the hole and at times I found it hard. There were times when Riquelme drifted out and dragged me with him, which left spaces for other players. I don’t play there often so it’s a learning process.”

Eriksson had appeared convinced that King was his best option as a holding player but does he look now at Owen Hargreaves or Michael Carrick? Or does he flex managerial muscle and tell Steven Gerrard that he must learn positional discipline? “I am sure that Gerrard can do it, Frank Lampard can do it but they are not keen because they want more freedom,” the head coach said. He added that he “could persuade Gerrard”. Perhaps it is time that he did.

The attempt to stiffen the midfield with King lasted an hour, in which time England twice fell behind and could have conceded more. In his toughest test by far in the England jersey, Paul Robinson excelled.

Although England launched a few counter-raids, notably when Rooney hit a post after a sublime pass from Gerrard, Argentina deserved the lead that came when Maxi Rodriguez skipped around a rusty Wayne Bridge and crossed for Hernán Crespo to bundle the ball in.

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