We still have room for improvement

Arsenal's veteran goalkeeper David Seaman should escape any kind of criticism. He may have dropped one or two in the first half when his back four were looking jittery but the save he made from Jorg Bohme when the scores were level at 1-1, was simply world class.

Rio Ferdinand and Sol Campbell is a potentially blue chip pairing. Both are quick for their size and, while Arsenal's Campbell is strong and resolute, Ferdinand is supremely comfortable on the ball. These are relatively early days for the partnership, however, and there were too many times against the Germans when either or both were caught out watching the ball instead of the free runners.

That should be rectified in time, as should the defensive abilities of Arsenal's Stepney flier, Ashley Cole. Against the Germans, Cole and his full-back partner Gary Neville forged forward whenever they could, unsettling the opposition-midfield and putting extra pressure on their cumbersome back three.

Neville, though, was occasionally caught too far away from his centre backs when Germany were on the attack and Cole, by his own admission, is still learning the art of defending, as perfected by Nigel Winterburn, his Highbury predecessor.

The England midfield were magnificent going forward on Saturday and proved they can think on their feet when, troubled by the tricky Sebastian Deisler, they carried out running repairs.

As Beckham said: "Once you're out on the pitch it's difficult getting messages to players. It's up to you to sort it out. This is a young side but we managed to sort it out between us after we realised we weren't marking the player in the hole."

The result was that Steven Gerrard dropped deeper to keep an eye on the dangerous Deisler and Beckham moved off the flank when necessary to fill the midfield gap.

England's midfield quartet are worth their weight in gold. Beckham grows in stature with every game while, inside him, Manchester United team-mate Paul Scholes is a class act. On Saturday, he perhaps did not catch the eye like Beckham and Gerrard but he would not have worried about that.

If Scholes is, as former England manager Kevin Keegan described him, England's "jewel in the crown" then Scouser Gerrard is the diadem itself.

He can shoot, run, tackle, pass, do everything in fact, and will not be 22 until next May. There are signs, too, that Gerrard's injury problems may be receding but there remains a question mark about his physical ability to play a lot of matches in a short time.

The left side of midfield has been a problem position for too long but that bright little footballer Nick Barmby let no one down there on Saturday until he was replace by Steve McManaman.

Bayern Munich's Owen Hargreaves has also been given his chance but looks as though he needs a little more time before he will be ready. Perhaps Joe Cole, so impressive in England's Under-21 win over the Germans, will mount a challenge this season while Chelsea's Frank Lampard and West Ham's Michael Carrick are champing at the bit.

Up front, Eriksson has no problems at all so long as Michael Owen stays fit.

A few minutes after the final whistle on Saturday night a beaming German approached me and shook my hand. "Owen," he smiled. "A great, great player, yes?" That is what you call losing graciously and it was a measure of the Liverpool star's impact upon the game.

Emile Heskey played a full part too but England without Owen would be like Wimbledon fortnight without the strawberries.

He knows that he won't always be playing up against defenders as ponderous as the Germans but, if he can maintain his present form, Owen has the pace and poise to terrorise anyone.

In Liverpool team-mates Robbie Fowler and Alan Smith, of Leeds, however, Eriksson has strikers of true quality to come in where needed.

This England team are exceptional but they could improve. Or, as George Best used to say to his blondes: "If you thought that was good, wait until next time."