SVEN-GÖRAN Eriksson picked Theo Walcott despite never seeing him play and he went with last night’s World Cup strategy after one training session. The supposedly cautious Swede is leading us on a mystery tour. No one can be sure that it will be magical.

Second guessing him has become as difficult as diagnosing Wayne Rooney’s foot or accurately forecasting England’s chances this summer and, while victory at Old Trafford last night was uplifting, selection and tactics will be debated more fiercely than ever after the first experiment with Steven Gerrard wearing Rooney’s No 9 shirt.

There were three good goals from England but there were as many anomalies. Jamie Carragher acquitted himself solidly enough in the midfield defensive role but if Eriksson is serious about starting him there in Germany, it was odd that he should move him to full back at half-time.

And if he wants to start with Michael Owen as the single prong to his attack, he must work out urgently a way of ensuring that the little striker is not asked to play like Alan Shearer, sticking his bum into big centre halves.

Peter Crouch came off the bench to score with a low shot and, given Owen’s obvious discomfort in his starting role, the case was advanced for starting with little and lanky against Paraguay. Which requires moving Gerrard back into midfield. Which means more debate about whether he is happy in partnership with Frank Lampard.

Eriksson will call it having options but the rest of the country craves more certainty. It is not the head coach’s fault that he has to be casting around for replacements for Rooney but one more match against Jamaica gives him precious little time.

Crouch’s robotic dancing was not quite Ronaldinho’s samba and if England are to trouble Brazil, there is still much work to be done on the dance floor and the training ground.

England could have been two goals ahead by half-time despite the obvious glitches. A burst of attacking activity just before the interval failed to yield the breakthrough — not that it was long in coming — but it did spare the players a chorus of jeers from fans who had already resorted to the Mexican wave.

Both chances came from David Beckham’s crosses and England should have realised long before the 40th minute that they should be stretching Hungary rather than tripping over themselves through the congested middle. The captain was England’s outstanding performer, his right foot providing the most creative outlet even if Gerrard did hit a couple of beautiful passes in his best Rooney imitation.

For the first opportunity, Beckham whipped a ball on to Owen’s head. It made a welcome change from collecting the ball with his back to goal and being dumped on his backside. His header was firm but too close to Gabor Kiraly, the Hungary goalkeeper, whose save created a mêlée in the goalmouth. It concluded with Csaba Feher throwing himself into a two-footed challenge on Gerrard, an outspoken critic of the game’s divers, who collapsed to the ground quicker than you can say Didier Drogba. It was not the Liverpool captain’s first offence but diving for England never seems to carry the same stigma.

Add penalty taking to the long to-do list at England’s next training session. Lampard stepped up to take the spot kick but his effort was too close to Kiraly, who saved low to his right.

Four minutes later, England hit the woodwork again. Another whipped cross from Beckham landed on the head of Joe Cole, who, this time, could be excused for roving inside. His glance diverted the ball on to the inside of the post.

Beckham lacks the stamina of old but his enduring excellence when it comes to delivering crosses and set-pieces cannot be denied by even his fiercest critic. And it was from two of his booming free kicks that England scored twice in five minutes at the start of the second half. Gerrard’s goal rate for England — six in his previous 40 matches — has been one of his great personal frustrations and, even if his flicked header into the far corner came from a set-piece, he will claim that it was no coincidence that he should score when pushed forward and wearing No 9.

John Terry had been the target for most of Beckham’s inswingers and, after a couple of close attempts, he added the second for England. Cue baby-rocking celebrations from the players and great roars of joy around Old Trafford, where, unusually, there were empty seats for an international.

The only audible complaints had been against the introduction of Owen Hargreaves at half-time and the Bayern Munich player’s hopes of improving his popularity ratings were hardly helped when Pal Dardai twisted away from him in the 55th minute and curled a wonderful 25-yard shot past Paul Robinson. Where Carragher had mostly looked composed, Hargreaves looked flustered.

As Eriksson rang the changes, Owen and Gerrard made way for Walcott, England’s youngest international, and Crouch, who added the third with a fine shot from the edge of the penalty area just when Joe Cole appeared to be dribbling over the Pennines.

THREE LIONS LICK THEIR WOUNDS

Wayne Rooney: Watched last night’s match from the substitutes’ bench as he continues his rehabilitation from a broken metatarsal. Travels to Germany on Monday and has next scan on June 7.

Michael Owen: Another 65 minutes under his belt, but has started only two matches since New Year’s Eve and appeared short of full match fitness.

Gary Neville: Replaced at half-time after suffering a hamstring injury, but his substitution was described as “precautionary” by Sven-Göran Eriksson.

GEORGE CAULKIN

MORE THAN A SPOT OF BOTHER

England have missed 21 penalties in 20 matches by 18 players in normal play since the Second World War — including three in their past five matches. In the 4-2 victory over Brazil at Wembley in 1956, England missed two penalty kicks. Three players have each missed two penalty kicks for England: Roger Byrne, Francis Lee and David Beckham.

Past five penalties for England

Miss: Oct 13, 2003: Turkey, D 0-0, European Championship qualifier (Beckham shoots over)

Score: Sep 6, 2003: Macedonia, W 2-1, European Championship qualifier (Beckham)

Miss: June 13, 2004: France, L 2-1, European Championship (Beckham shot saved by Fabien Barthez)

Score: Oct 8, 2005: Austria W 1-0, World Cup qualifier (Lampard)

Miss: May 30, 2006: Hungary, W 3-1, friendly (Lampard shot, above, saved by Gabor Kiraly)