England 5-1 Kazakhstan

But this disjointed performance went mightily close until a late flurry of goals gave Fabio Capello's men a margin of victory that they didn't really deserve.

Thank goodness that the Kazakhs ran out of steam in the last 15 minutes, allowing Wayne Rooney to grab a brace and Jermain Defoe to drive in a fifth in the final minute.

The visitors, sandwiched between Hong Kong and Singapore at number 131 in the FIFA world rankings, had more than held their own until Rio Ferdinand's header broke the deadlock in the 52nd minute.

England had huffed and puffed until that point and, although Capello dismissed the Kazakhs after the match as an unambitious side who came to Wembley to set up their stall, such analysis does them a disservice.

Playing with two in attack, they created the game's first gilt-edged chance just after the interval when the excellent Tanat Nusserbayev fired over from barely five yards with the goal at his mercy. Two tiny pockets of Kazakh fans bounced up and down in the stands urging their team to drive forward into the spaces left by Gareth Barry's half-time withdrawal for Shaun Wright-Phillips.

Their attacking forays might have reaped greater rewards, but they almost immediately found themselves behind after a poor error from keeper Alexandr Mokin.

The custodian found himself between the sticks after manager Bernd Stock axed his regular choice David Loriya from his squad completely after he shipped 16 goals in five matches.

On this evidence, Loriya may earn a hasty reprieve after Mokin's flapping at a corner gave Ferdinand a simple finish.

The England captain pumped his arms and shouted to the crowd in an effort to recreate the atmosphere of the opening 20 minutes when every England move forward was met with feverish expectation.

Theo Walcott, in particular, heightened the crowd's interest every time he touched the ball and he gave his marker Alexander Kirov a torrid time early on, repeatedly ghosting past him at will, though his final ball was lacking and, when he exited the field for David Beckham in the 79th minute, he had long been a peripheral figure.

Beckham, who is still plying his trade for lowly MLS side LA Galaxy entered the field to a rapturous ovation as he equalled Bobby Charlton's tally of 106 caps.

His England team-mates must be green with envy at the almost untouchable status that he enjoys among the Wembley support.

Ageing and long past his best, "Golden Balls" can do no wrong.

The same can't be said of Ashley Cole whose terrible back pass sent Zhambyl Kukeyev clear and he coolly waited for the ball to settle before drilling past James.

An Alexandr Kuchma own goal had already given England a cushion, but, at 2-1, the crowd's mood began to sour.

Home is most certainly not where the heart is when England are concerned and Cole was booed for the remainder of the match for his error.

A good quiz question might be to ask how long it has been since a home England match has passed off without the team or an individual being singled out for booing from their own fans.

Captain for the day Ferdinand hit out at the negative supporters afterwards, labelling them "ignorant" and "shameful," though it is only right to point out that a healthy number of fans actively cheered Cole every time that he touched the ball in an effort to drown out the naysayers.

Rooney glanced in a close-range header and then finished from close range before Defoe ran on to a smart Emile Heskey through ball to boost England's goal difference to a healthy nine.

Three wins from three and a two-point lead at the top of Group Six should make Capello a happy boy indeed yet one feels that England's players and especially Ashley Cole will feel a lot of pressure being lifted off their backs as their plane takes them to Belarus for this Wednesday's match.