Underdogs triumph at Wembley

The plucky underdogs, defending with all their might against opponents who were significantly superior to them in so many facets of the game. A snatched goal from a floated free-kick, completely against the run of play but sufficient to set up a grandstand finale.

And finally, a shock of a result in which the outsiders pulled off an unexpected victory against the short-priced favourites.

The only thing missing was the postman, butcher and mechanic so beloved of FA Cup folklore. In fairness though, one member of the winning side does have a day job defending for Everton.

It says much for England and Spain's respective status in the world game that Saturday's friendly can be described in such tones, yet of all the surprises that have occurred in the early stages of this helter-skelter season, the weekend events at Wembley must surely be right up there.

An England side shorn of the likes of Wayne Rooney, Steven Gerrard, Jack Wilshere and John Terry overcame world and European champions Spain, widely regarded as the best team in international football and one of the greatest ever to have played the game.

Yes, it was just a friendly. Yes, for large periods of the match, Spain were completely dominant in terms of possession and territory. No, this doesn't mean we should assume England will sweep all before them at next summer's European Championships in Poland and Ukraine.

But after a qualifying campaign that raised as many questions as it answered, at least this provided proof that Fabio Capello's side continue to be competitive at world football's top table.

And while England have beaten reigning World Cup winners before, most notably in 1975, when they swept aside West Germany 2-0, and 1980, when they secured a 3-1 win over Diego Maradona's Argentina, the kudos of defeating the world champions should not be sniffed at.

"I think it is an important result because it will help the squad find confidence," said Capello. "It is also important for the crowd and the fans for the same reason - when you beat the world champions, you feel good."

You also discover something about yourself, and Saturday's success was notable for two main reasons. First, because Capello finally lived up to his reputation as a master tactician and devised a plan aimed specifically at strangling the attacking threat of Spain's play-makers, and second because England's players actually proved capable of pulling it off.

Playing with a structure and discipline that has regularly been difficult to discern in English sides of the past, the hosts restricted Spain to two attempts on target all night. The visitors might have had 348 first-half touches in the opposition's half, as opposed to England's 75, but faced with the massed ranks of their opponents' defence, they were unable to prise the kind of opening that their slick, tiki-taka passing usually creates.

For that, England deserve credit, particularly Scott Parker, who was immense as he protected his back four from the base of midfield, and Phil Jagielka and Joleon Lescott, who formed a watertight central-defensive partnership in the absence of Terry and Rio Ferdinand.

"I thought the two centre-halves were fantastic, really good," said Capello. "Every time Spain tried to pass the ball through us, they were in very good positions.

"Scott Parker produced an incredible performance. He has improved with every game that he has played for me. He is playing with confidence and he is a really important player for the team now"

A succession of England managers have searched fruitlessly for a genuine holding midfielder, only to eventually admit defeat and adopt the policy of placing a square peg in a round hole. In Parker, Capello has unearthed a genuinely world-class talent, a player capable of completing the kind of unglamorous tasks that have often proved England's undoing in the past. Had the Spurs midfielder been part of the side that played Germany in Bloemfontein two summers ago, surely England would not have been torn apart so emphatically?

Similarly, had Jagielka been playing in the World Cup instead of Terry and Matthew Upson, perhaps the likes of Mesut Ozil and Thomas Mueller would not have had such a field day?

Either way, by playing with the kind of resolve and structure they displayed at the weekend - dropping deep in numbers to prevent Spain's attackers getting in behind them, pressing with the same urgency and commitment that is normally the preserve of Spain and, by extension, Barcelona, retaining their positional discipline even when they were forced to concede possession for minutes at a time - England's players dispelled the notion that they are incapable of shutting up shop when the situation dictates.

Whether they could ever play that way in a major tournament remains to be seen - would England supporters be content with their side becoming the new Greece and boring their way to a world or European title? At least, though, we know now that dysfunctional disorganisation is not an intrinsic part of England's DNA.

"We prepared for the game against Spain with a certain style," said Capello. "We needed to be really focused in every moment of the game and try to win the ball back whenever they were in possession. Spain always press the ball really well and we needed to do that too.

"We had to play on the counter-attack. It is hard to play against Spain because the quality of their players is fantastic. The difficult thing is not just to win back the ball, it is also to do something with it because they press the ball so well when they do not have it."

England hadn't really looked like doing anything in an attacking sense in the first half, but when a chance finally presented itself four minutes into the second half, skipper Frank Lampard was able to convert.

Darren Bent nodded James Milner's free-kick against the upright, and Lampard was on hand to prod home the rebound from inside the six-yard box.

It was the only time England threatened, save for a slick interchange between substitutes Jack Rodwell and Danny Welbeck that was eventually thwarted by a fine challenge from Jordi Alba, but it was enough to win the game.

Spain, whose ball retention before the break was rendered irrelevant by a lack of end product, finally added some tempo to their game late on, but David Villa's swerving half-volley rattled the right-hand post and Cesc Fabregas side-footed wide of the target after Villa's run finally threatened to breach the English defence with one minute left.