Capello still needs Barry to protect his position at top of World Cup group

While Fabio Capello may still be puzzled by the cruel whims of the Wembley crowd, he has quickly recognised a simple truth that most of his predeccessors were eventually forced to accept that England are most effective playing in a 4-4-2 formation.

The best coaches are those who acknowledge their mistakes and have the guile to do something about them and that is precisely what Capello did when Kazakhstan threatened to write yet another chapter in England's recent catalogue of humilations.

Capello's best player is Wayne Rooney and, after wasting his talent for 45 minutes in a wide position on the left, the Italian coach held up his hands and restored the Manchester United striker to the place where he offers the greatest threat to the opposition.

Hopefully, the Italian coach will retain the 22-year-old as the support striker to Emile Heskey when the World Cup qualification campaign continues against Belarus in Minsk on Wednesday evening.

Rooney's second-half contribution, totally justifiying Capello's decision to revert to a familiar 4-4-2 line-up, provided England with the platform for a 5-1 victory that glossed over a largely unimpressive team performance.

But another win in Minsk would be the first time that England have started a World Cup qualifying campaign with four straight wins, suggesting that, in Capello, the FA might finally have found a coach capable of getting the best out of the team in the matches that matter.