I'm confident that if England don't win a trophy under Fabio Capello, it will be because the players are not good enough. The manager surely is. The friendlies before last night's match were not impressive, but who cares now? Capello used them to recognise England's problems, understand them and work through them. And the result was as good a performance last night as we could have wished for.

Please don't think I'm going overboard. It's just that I saw good things from England last night that I haven't witnessed for years. Players won't think of international football as a hindrance if the team can string together more displays like this. They'll be queueing up to join the squad.

This win was made possible by a team selection that was positive and brave. A real contrast with the cautious way that Steve McClaren set up his side in the games against Croatia. Then, we were asking questions of England's players. Why were the attackers so isolated? Why weren't chances being created? This at least was a line-up designed to ask a few questions of the opposition.

Players love to have options going forward. Otherwise, as we have seen in the past, they just keep hold of the ball, play it simply or run down blind alleys. We've said that Wayne Rooney has looked poor for England, but let's remember that his team-mates haven't made his life any easier.

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I will retain the hope that Walcott will become a wonderful player, who will ignite England at the World Cup in South Africa

Simon Barnes

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BACKGROUND

• Walcott does the trick for England

• Walcott ready for life in spotlight

• Capello rewarded for throwing caution to wind

• How the England players rated in Zagreb

Multimedia

• How England's incredible win unfolded

Last night, England had four forwards who offered something different. Life was never going to be easy against a team as good as Croatia, but at least Capello's selection created the potential for some varied link-up play. It gave reason to hope that England would score. There was Emile Heskey, target man; Theo Walcott, pace down the wing; Joe Cole, trickery, coming inside to offer an option; Rooney, tireless energy and aggression, running the channels.

I've no problem with the selection of Heskey, though Peter Crouch can do as good a job. He may not be flavour of this or any other month, but why not go with a battering ram, when against high-quality teams in the past, pure predators such as Jermain Defoe have looked ineffective? At least with Heskey you guarantee that he will put himself about and hassle the back four. He's part of the game even if he's not a goal threat.

Walcott's presence at David Beckham's expense was bold but smart. It gave England the prospect of breaking quickly on the counter-attack. The 19-year-old's pace offers an outlet and provides the potential for turning defence instantly into attack.

You don't get that mobility with Beckham. All you get is a long-range pass. There were two other reasons to pick Walcott: Beckham sits deep, allowing the opposing full back licence to roam forward without fear of exposure; and the former captain tends to drift inside, interfering with the central midfield players. Walcott has a lot to learn, but maybe his naivety is what England need, someone who's not paralysed by thinking too much, who acts on instinct.

His first goal was lucky in that a miscued clearance set it up, but England made their good fortune in a way we did not see under McClaren. Throwing bodies forward, crowding the back four, denying them space and time, putting them into a panic. Rio Ferdinand was up supporting the attack before the ball broke to Walcott. That's the guts England needed, the kind of tactics that frustrate opponents and cause them to get sent off. We saw it for all three goals: bodies in the box, options up front, teamwork.

The worry is that David James did not look secure in goal. He's liable to make a mistake that will prove costly. But on an evening when England, at last, showed penetration and conviction, let's just be positive. Capello was.