London: Can England finally make an impression in the World Cup, or will they once again flatter to deceive?
Their latest outing, very much a game of two halves, provided no conclusive answer.
Gareth Southgate's men began their penultimate World Cup warm up game at Wembley against Nigeria in the early hours of Sunday morning Australian time in sparkling fashion.
Led by newly appointed skipper Harry Kane, an effervescent England began at a quick tempo that took their African opponents, who have also qualified for the Russia, by surprise.
England's Fabian Delph duels for the ball with Nigeria's Oghenekaro Etebo (right).
Photo: AP
England played with a mixture of brio and precision, a purpose and joy all too rarely displayed by teams in white, especially in front of their own fans.
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Raheem Sterling, Harry Kane and Jesse Lingard formed a pacy and skilful attack, linking smartly and bursting with intent, with Dele Alli coming in support from deeper positions.
Kieran Trippier (one of four Tottenham men in the starting line up) on the right and veteran Ashley Young on the left gave them speed and drive on the flanks as Nigeria struggled to get outside their own half.
England had already created a handful of opportunities before taking a seventh minute lead courtesy of central defender Gary Cahill, lining up in a back three alongside John Stones and Kyle Walker.
Nigeria's Ahmed Musa battles with England's Danny Rose
Photo: AP
Trippier's free kick from outside the penalty area had been tipped away to safety by Nigerian goalkeeper Francis Uzoho, but the shot stopper could do little about Chelsea defender Cahill's thumping header from Trippier's subsequent corner.
England's pressure from this point on was relentless as the Nigerians clung on and offered little in response.
There was little surprise when the hosts doubled their advantage some six minutes before the interval thanks to some interplay between Sterling and Kane, the Tottenham star finishing cleverly to put England in the driving seat.
But the second half saw a dramatic turnaround by the Nigerians, who subjected England to the sort of searching pre-tournament work out that Southgate, when he looks back on the match, will probably appreciate.
The Africans had not had a shot on target until the 44th minute in the first half, so much was England in control.
But Nigeria made four changes at the interval and coach Gernot Rohr's initiative was rewarded within three minutes when they pulled a goal back.
Odion Ighalo did really well to manufacture space for himself and beat England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford comprehensively only to see his shot cannon back off the post.
England's relief was short lived, however, as the rebound fell to Arsenal's Alex Iwobi, who drove home to put his side back in the game.
The next 40 minutes were a spirited and energetic tussle – far more entertaining than the usual pre-tournament friendly fare – as the Nigerians pushed on for an equaliser and England, having weathered the storm, looked to get that third goal which would give them the safety buffer that would make the bulk of the 70,000 fans in the stand comfortable.
Southgate made numerous second half changes – Kane departed after 73 minutes, Dele Alli with 10 remaining while Danny Rose, Marcus Rashford and Danny Welbeck all had a run off the bench.
Neitehr side could add to their tally, so England got the verdict 2-1.
England will take plenty of heart from their first half performance, but be worried about how they let Nigeria back into the game in the second period.
Nigeria will be the mirror image: disappointed by their lack of enterprise in the opening half, delighted with the way they bounced back in the second.
England should qualify easily enough for the knockout phase from a group comprising themselves, Belgium, Panama and Tunisia.
Nigeria have a more arduous task against Croatia, Iceland and Argentina. But if they play with belief and perform as they did in the second half here then they have a chance of making it through – where, if the Socceroos could conjure up some shock results, the two nations might even meet in the round of 16.
Michael Lynch, The Age's expert on soccer, has had extensive experience of high level journalism in the UK and Australia. Michael has covered the Socceroos through Asia, Europe and South America in their past three World Cup campaigns. He has also reported on Grands Prix and top class motor sport from Asia and Europe. He has won several national media awards for both sports and industry journalism.
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