Sven riding out Becks storm

However, it must be said that England's deliveries from set pieces hardly suffered in the absence of Beckham. He may be a deadball specialist but Frank Lampard and Wayne Rooney demonstrated similar accuracy from free-kicks and corners.

Michael Owen, handed the captain's armband in Beckham's absence, revelled in the responsibility. He took the role seriously, played with great purpose and scored England's goal.

"He looks in very good shape even if he has played little for Real Madrid," said Eriksson. The England coach boldly decided to retain the three-man strikeforce that looked so impressive in the 2-0 win over Wales. This allowed Rooney the free role he loves behind Owen and Jermain Defoe.

The range of skills demonstrated by the 18-year-old made him easily the most exciting player on the pitch. We all know what he can do in the attacking half of the field, but he was running back to reinforce the defence, winning tackles and driving 50-yard passes into the heart of the Azerbaijan defence with great pace and accuracy.

"Wayne likes to play in that position because he sees so much of the ball," explained Eriksson. "He can get away from his marker in deeper positions and then has more time to use the ball. I think he was doing that well. I was also impressed with the way he worked back to help the midfield and defence."

Eriksson may retain his three-man attacking formation for next month's visit to Spain for a friendly match but it is unlikely to oust the conventional 4-4-2 as his favourite style of play.

"The three strikers were successful against Wales and that's basically the reason I kept that formation for the visit to Baku," he explained. "I wanted to make as few changes as possible - and go for it once again. But I wouldn't say that I plan to persevere with it in the longer term. It depends who and where we play. The important thing now is that we know we can play a conventional 4-4-2, the diamond shape and, now, with three strikers. It's good to have options like that."

What must be encouraging for Eriksson is that England position as group pacemakers means that he has the luxury of continuing to assess his options in the remaining qualifying ties if he wants to. Success in the next two, at home to Northern Ireland and Azerbaijan in March, could practically guarantee England's participation in the finals in Germany in 2006.

Owen's goal in the 21st minute, a header from a left-wing cross by the outstanding Ashley Cole, secured all three points although England should have won more comfortably. Jahangir Hasanzade, Azerbaijan's goalkeeper,twice denied both Lampardand Rooney. The second from Rooney, a swerving free-kick late in the game, almost beat him but he just clawed the ball away.

Azerbaijan were never going to beat England, but they showed their Brazilian inf luence - Carlos Alberto is coach - by passing the ball well with speed and accuracy. They also accepted their defeat with dignity as did the drenched crowd.

Alberto, who had criticised the Irish and Welsh for the quality of their football, was impressed with England. "You have a very good young team again and I think you will become the best in Europe," he said. "I like your attackers and, in defence, I like Rio Ferdinand."

Eriksson had a smile on his face. "I've seen better matches but the result was excellent," he said. "When you consider the weather and the pitch it was a professional job. Six points from two games with two clean sheets - that's perfect."