John Terry last night made good use of his audition for the captaincy by putting England on their way to a comfortable 2-0 win over the United States. The fourth international goal of the Chelsea defender's career, a towering header in the 38th minute, will not have erased the pain of last week's penalty shoot-out miss in the Champions League final, but will go some way to helping him on the road to recovery and enable him to end the season on a modest high.

Steven Gerrard also enhanced his credentials by popping up on the right from his position on the left to provide a clinical finish to a well-worked move in the 59th minute as England recovered from a slow opening to dominate the visiting team in the second half.

By the 74th minute Mexican Waves were going around Wembley with tedious monotony, although that said more about the crowd's desire for entertainment and the level of the opposition than England's performance. The official attendance of 71,223 appeared to include many ticket-holders who did not actually show up.

Jermain Defoe's pace and movement, if not his finishing, also impressed in a promising partnership with the industrious Wayne Rooney, although, as in Moscow eight days ago, the defining image was provided by Terry. The 27-year-old has endured the most difficult week of his professional life at the end of a rollercoaster season, which can at least end with some degree of satisfaction as he will be rested from Sunday's match against Trinidad & Tobago, with only Rio Ferdinand and Wayne Bridge of the Champions League finalists expected to fly to the Caribbean this morning.

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Whether it will be enough for him to regain the captaincy on a permanent basis remains to be seen, however, with Ferdinand still the favourite despite an absent-minded performance yesterday and Gareth Barry likely to get his chance on Sunday.

England's opening goal sprang from a combination of their past two permanent captains, with the one wearing the armband for the night hoping that it will be returned to him in the future.

David Beckham's free kick from the right, after Wes Brown had been fouled, was met powerfully by Terry, who rose dramatically above Carlos Bocanegra before placing the ball beyond Tim Howard in the bottom right-hand corner. Terry's relief was apparent for all to see, not quite stretching to tears but embracing Gerrard before seeking out Beckham for another man-hug, though it was matched by that of Fabio Capello, the manager, in the dugout.

Defoe capped a lively night by helping to create the second goal on his first international appearance for 15 months. The Portsmouth striker's neat flick was picked up by Barry, in only his second minute on the pitch, who played a wonderful through-ball to Gerrard and watched as the Liverpool captain stroked the ball beyond Howard.

Beckham's enduring popularity was amply demonstrated by the standing ovation he received when presented with a golden cap by Sir Bobby Charlton before kick-off, with the former captain expressing his gratitude afterwards. “It's any boy's dream to reach 100 matches with their country,” he said. “I love playing for England and to reach that milestone was an incredible experience for me.”