Cut above: Rooney heads home England's second

Capello must have been delighted with other aspects of this game. He has used 18 different central defensive pairings in his 59 games in charge but a first start for Cahill and John Terry proved a successful one. Cahill was a powerful presence at the heart of England’s defence, making some important interceptions as well as scoring his goal.

For Chris Smalling, too, it must have been most satisfying. He endured one or two anxious moments but he can reflect on a fine debut at right back.

True, Bulgaria weren’t very good, indeed as poor as they were at  Wembley last year and pathetic  defensively, especially when it came to dealing with set-pieces. Lothar Matthaus had called on his side to play ‘like Germany’ and the less said about that the better.

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