David James 6
Back at Wembley less than a fortnight after winning the FA Cup with Portsmouth, the goalkeeper may as well have spent the first half reminiscing about that glorious afternoon because the US gave him little else to do. He had to use his mouth more than his hands, because not much was required from him beyond marshalling the defence and making the odd kick and catch.

Wes Brown 4
A slack pass after 15 minutes created an attack for the US, as did more poor distribution just before the half-hour. He made a key header after 25 minutes, however, with Bradley, the US midfield player, lurking at the far post. When up against Beasley, the Rangers winger who is not fully fit, he struggled more than he should have done. Johnson, his replacement, looked more impressive.

Rio Ferdinand 5
How would he react to losing the captaincy? There was an adroit early tackle to deny Wolff in a dangerous area, but his performance lacked focus, as exemplified by a minor mix-up with James after 75 minutes. Mildly distracted when tracking Johnson’s runs. There was more confusion in the centre of defence than necessary for such an experienced player facing opponents of limited threat.

John Terry (c) 7
In possession of the armband once more, he scored his fourth international goal with a well-directed header. Understandably, memories of Moscow appeared to shroud his celebration, which was charged with emotions far more raw and intense than simple happiness. Did a lot of sliding about on the wet turf, deliberately this time, as he entered into tackles with his usual zest.

Gerrard digs hole after ‘graveyard shift’

If the Liverpool captain is to be an integral part of Fabio Capello’s plans, it will not be at the heart of midfield

Lack of sick notes underlines respect for manager

A full strength England side proved that Capello has won his first battle in gaining the support of his players

Related Links

• Terry puts England on road to victory

• Terry stakes convincing claim for captaincy

• Gerrard digs hole after ‘graveyard shift’

Ashley Cole 6
Another Chelsea player who was eager to dust away the disappointment of Moscow, though not fuelled by a sense of personal failure as was Terry. The minimal danger that was posed by the US allowed the full back to make overlapping runs without fear of leaving the defence exposed and he dovetailed intuitively with Gerrard, especially in the early stages of the match.

David Beckham 6
The “gold” cap presented to him before kick-off looked beige, but this was not a bland performance. The first 20 minutes were more Room 101 than Cap 101: a mis-hit free kick, then a shanked shot high over the bar under pressure. Seemed frustrated, but then came the fine free kick from the right for Terry’s goal. Replaced by the more mobile Bentley for the second half.

Owen Hargreaves 6
A different challenge to Terry’s, also faced by his Manchester United team-mates: could he overcome any sense of anticlimax after last week’s match? Busy, he sat as usual, allowing Lampard the freedom to make forward runs, but in practice both made the odd surge into the other half — Hargreaves even essaying a (forgettable) shot late in the first half.

Frank Lampard 6
No meaningless friendly this for the Chelsea man — it was his first appearance under Fabio Capello, having missed the previous two matches because of injury and illness. It was a chance to show he could dominate the centre of midfield, especially with Gerrard pushed wide, but there was an end-of-season lethargy to his display, even if he was reasonably bright and tidy.

Steven Gerrard 8
In an unusual role on the left but someone this talented can play anywhere against such inferior opponents, and he drifted towards the middle in search of the goal he duly found after 59 minutes. England’s star man, his range illustrated by a deft little header to Ashley Cole in the fifteenth minute that was followed by a cross-field pass so sweeping you needed a widescreen TV to appreciate it.

Wayne Rooney 6
More goals, Capello had demanded. Rooney’s England scoring record of 43 appearances and 14 goals is similar to his ratio at club level. No longer a lonely lone striker, there were signs of a promising understanding with Defoe. A zippy run and sage pass to Gerrard was his best moment of the first half. But he made a rash challenge on Clark seconds before the break.

Jermain Defoe 6
The beneficiary of Michael Owen’s absence, this was his first start since the 1-0 win over the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia in Skopje in September 2006. He played a nice ball putting Rooney clear early on, but he was just offside. Poked Gerrard’s left-wing cross narrowly wide after 34 minutes and missed a couple of decent chances in the second half.

Substitutions: David Bentley (for Beckham, 46min) 6; Gareth Barry (for Lampard, 57) 7; Glen Johnson (for Brown, 57) 7; Peter Crouch (for Defoe, 68) 6; Joe Cole (for Rooney, 79); Wayne Bridge (for A Cole, 82) Not used Joe Hart, Stephen Warnock, Jonathan Woodgate, Phil Jagielka, David Wheater, Tom Huddlestone, Stewart Downing, Ashley Young, Dean Ashton, Theo Walcott, Gabriel Agbonlahor, Joe Lewis Booked Rooney

Team statistics (England first): First-half goals 1, 0; Shots on target 4, 2; Shots off target 6, 3; Blocked shots 5, 4; Corners 4, 5; Fouls 24, 23; Offsides 4, 2; Yellow cards 1, 2; Passing success 81.0, 72.4; Tackles 22, 11; Tackles success 72.7, 81.8; Possession 60.6, 39.4; Territorial advantage 48.4, 51.6

How USA rated

Tim Howard 5
Steven Cherundolo 5
Oguchi Onyewu 5
Carlos Bocanegra 4
Heath Pearce 4
Clint Dempsey 5
Michael Bradley 5
Ricardo Clark 4
DaMarcus Beasley 6
Eddie Johnson 5
Josh Wolff 4

Substitutes Brad Guzan 6 (for Howard, 46min), Frankie Hejduk 5 (for Cherundolo, 46), Eddie Lewis 5 (for Beasley, 68), Freddy Adu 6 (for Wolff, 68), Maurice Edu (for Clark, 79), Nate Jaqua (for Johnson, 89) Not used Danny Califf Booked Cherundolo, Pearce

Referee Kyros Vassaras (Greece)