Almost comically stone-faced and emotionless as he marched away around the running track of the Maksimir Stadium, Fabio Capello kept his commentary on the restoration of English football to a minimum. “It is nothing, just one game,” he said. He did not need to fill in the gaps. While saying hardly a word, he had made the most eloquent statement of any England manager since Germany were demolished in Munich seven years ago. Capello's message was there in the performance, in the optimism that now surrounds this team, the hope contained for the future. “And gentlemen in England now abed, shall think themselves accursed they were not here,” William Shakespeare wrote, and those in Liverpool recovering from minor groin operations may be pretty hacked off about it, too.

The rousing echo of the St Crispin's Day speech from Henry V that Capello no longer needs to deliver would be on the theme of hearing the call, of turning up, if selected. In a modern take, the manager would remind his players that no matter their reputation, once the bus was ready to leave it would not wait; nor would another be along in ten minutes.

Asked what message the 90 minutes contained for Steven Gerrard, Owen Hargreaves and the champions of Michael Owen, Capello wisely gave a bland, non-committal answer. Who knows what injuries are around the corner? The next time England convene, Capello could be without half of the team who won in Croatia and may need to extract the same level of performance from a different group.

Only a fool would use this occasion to score cheap points from the absentees and Capello is certainly not that. He will have known, however, that whether the point was made in public or not, the seed will have been planted.

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Gerrard and Hargreaves, who would both have played if available, will know that they missed a special, significant night. Owen will be aware that there are no wheels on the bandwagon that would have campaigned for his return had England lacked a defining goalscorer in Zagreb. This result includes a Sarah Palin-style bounce, because it empowers a manager who began the international interlude with blows raining down on his regime from the self-interested elite clubs.

The next item of interest on Capello's agenda is the match between Liverpool and Manchester United tomorrow, and he will raise a quizzical eyebrow if it brings an appearance from Gerrard or Hargreaves. He will again say nothing, of course, but could make his point via the team-sheet for the match with Kazakhstan at Wembley on October 11. Either way, in the build-up to that game there will be a genuine competition for places, the mark of a strong team.

Steve McClaren looked to have created something similar a year ago when he went on a winning streak with Shaun Wright-Phillips, Emile Heskey and Gareth Barry in the starting line-up. Familiar names soon returned, however, and those citing Wednesday's win as the end of all attempts to field Gerrard and Frank Lampard on the same pitch may be disappointed.

Gerrard has not stopped being one of the best footballers in England, but he may have to forsake his obsession to be played in a roaming central midfield role, free of responsibility. Lampard was disciplined and diligent against Croatia beside Barry and this is a manager who now has the authority to make demands of his players. His bargaining tool is that he has something they might want; a good thing going.

Much has been made of the dwindling importance of international football to players, but few choose to retire from a team, or a career, that is on the up. Paul Scholes quit after England had again failed at the quarter-final stage of a tournament, having scored once in 31 internationals and been substituted in 11 of his past 12 matches. He was also being asked to stretch the play wide left, which he hated. Similarly, Jamie Carragher's retirement came after discovering that he was the fourth-choice centre back behind John Terry, Rio Ferdinand and a fit Ledley King, midway through a qualifying campaign teetering on the brink of calamity. David Beckham may no longer be a starting player under Capello, but given the potential unleashed in Zagreb, he would be mad to bale out now; any player would.

Perhaps the most encouraging aspect of this result was what it said about Capello's leadership. All international managers bemoan the lack of time with their players, but what unfolds when they get it tells the real story. England improved the longer they were with Terry Venables before the 1996 European Championship and floundered after several weeks with Kevin Keegan at the tournament four years later. Russia were a different proposition after two years under Guus Hiddink, as most teams are.

This was Capello's first opportunity to get his squad together for more than a week with a goal of victory in competitive matches and the team who emerged were infinitely superior for his attention. “We told the players something new on the training ground every day,” Capello said. “We talked to them all the time because confidence was the problem. We prepared the players as they would prepare at a club, and they are good at their clubs.”

Beckham knew Capello's methods of old. “People are saying we have turned a corner, but we have felt like that for a while,” the former England captain, who played under the Italian at Real Madrid, said. “It has been longer than a week now with tactics and training and we felt that we had that in us before the game.

“This will surprise a few, but the players were confident. We had nine days with the manager and we knew what he wanted and expected. The team selection was bold, because that is what he is about. He decides on the best way to win a game and no one can question him, because he is a winner. He won't allow this team to go backwards now.”

The victory in Munich bought Sven-Göran Eriksson years of blind faith in his worth as England head coach, but the result remained a career highlight. In essence, England got a little lucky that evening because Eriksson's simplistic, tried and trusted formula of knocking the ball over the top for Owen caused a slow Germany back line more problems than it should.

England continued to play that way under Eriksson for most of his six years - the 2004 European Championship finals were an exception - but without similar success.

So Capello's method was more ambitious because it necessitated changing the way that England play. He kept the strengths, the high tempo of English football at its best, but added movement, a superior passing game and pace down the flank, through Theo Walcott, that has been absent for too long.

Supporters were still looking slightly bemused as they filed on to homeward flights yesterday morning - “It's still sinking in, mate,” one told me - but it is to be hoped that, unlike the win in Germany, this is merely the beginning.

Capello certainly demands more. He seemed irritated at the absence of midfield cover when Croatia scored and will have seen better games from Joe Cole, but perhaps this is for the best. It would not be such a cause for celebration if this was considered the pinnacle of English achievement, the perfect game, never to be repeated.

There are serious tests ahead, too. The match in Ukraine will not be easy and, on seeing this, most teams will be doubling up on man-of-the-moment Walcott.

Lampard, who has enjoyed excellent back-to-back performances despite his valuable contribution in Andorra being largely overlooked, said: “The manager has instilled a team ethic in us. That is his strength. He has worked with fantastic players, but is more committed to teamwork and discipline. There wasn't one out there playing for himself, or not to his highest level. We worked as a group and we got the rewards.”

Capello will not acknowledge that endorsement, but he knows its truth; just as the players now have the measure of the man who, right now, is very much the capo dei capi of English football.