The year has ended well for Fabio Capello, and not just because that unexpected defeat of the world champions has been followed by a first win against Sweden since 1968.

Capello’s England emerge from 2011 unbeaten and moving towards next summer’s European Championship with rather more optimism than they might have had 12 months ago.

They have qualified for another tournament, they have won six of their nine games and they seem to have something resembling a plan with a crop of exciting new players. 

Head first: Gareth Barry flicks a header that deflects in off Swedish defender Daniel Majstorovic for the winner

This was not the most exciting England game we have seen and it was not the most exciting England side, either. Not when Bobby Zamora is deployed as a distinctly average lone striker and Gareth Barry is sporting a No 10 shirt we prefer to associate with players like Glenn Hoddle and Geoff Hurst.

At Wembley John Terry was England’s leading international goalscorer, with a grand total of six.

But consider the progress that has been made in the last 12 months — the discovery of players like Jack Wilshere, Phil Jones and Danny Welbeck, and the emergence of Scott Parker, Ashley Young and Joe Hart as established internationals.

This system also seems to suit these England players, and this game amounted to another useful experiment. Playing far more offensively than they did against Spain, England attacked the Swedes effectively on the flanks but also pressed through the middle thanks to the security Jones provided in a midfield holding role.

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