England vs Nigeria: World Cup 2018 plan on track as Gary Cahill and Harry Kane ensure strong Wembley send-off

England 2-1 Nigeria: Alex Iwobi pulled one back for an out-of-sorts Super Eagles

For the first half here at Wembley this felt like a new England, a vindication of nearly two years of work from Gareth Southgate trying to lift the burden of history from these players.

Yes, it was only a friendly, only a half-interested Nigeria, and we are still 16 days and 2,000 miles away from facing Tunisia in Volgograd in the real big kick-off. But everything you would want to see from this team was on show, and England played with a freedom and style that warranted more than their 2-0 half-time lead.

But if the first half was the future, the second half was the past, as England conceded badly, went into their shells and looked for much of it as if they were heading for a 2-2 draw. The old doubts crept back in and you wondered whether this team could free themselves from history as easily as many would like.

Of course it is easy to read too much into a dress rehearsal, and England do have a habit of aceing this game before blowing their lines on the opening night. Although what else can you do but take this game at face value? Especially when it starts with so much promise.

Because the first thing you want to see from an England side is an idea of what they are trying to do, and one of the successes of the Southgate era so far is that they now have one. From the start here England played the way they want to: expansively, imaginatively, dominating the ball and creating chances.

Southgate’s imprint is clear on this team now: the 3-5-2, John Stones playing out from the back, one holding midfielder with two going forward. Dele Alli and Jesse Lingard is a risky combination but both shone here. Alli with his imagination on the ball and sharp reverse passes to Raheem Sterling. Lingard with those clever runs in behind, twice nearly leading to a goal when Kieran Trippier found him.

And while England took an early lead from a good old-fashioned set-piece goal – Gary Cahill header from a Trippier corner – what was most impressive in the first half was the sense of fluency, trust and understanding among the attacking players. That is what England have lacked for so long but here it was in sustained bursts during their impressive first-half. Lingard and Alli attacking from midfield, Trippier and Ashley Young attacking down the flanks, Stones and Kyle Walker starting things from the back.

But the team’s best players are still Kane and Sterling, and it is inconceivable that they will do anything in Russia without those two at the top of their games. Here they were unleashed as a strike pair, and they clicked with promising force. Kane loves to lead the line but here he was dropping back into midfield, looking up and spraying passes while Sterling scurried off ahead of him in behind the defence.

Jordan Pickford in action for England against Nigeria (Getty Images)

Early on Sterling and Kane played a brisk one-two that nearly made a shooting chance for Ashley Young, and with six minutes left in the first half they combined to double England’s lead. Dier won the ball, Kane and Sterling again exchanged passes, and the Nigeria defence backed off to protect themselves from Sterling’s speed. Kane does not need to be asked nicely so he took one touch then arrowed the ball in from the edge of the box, past William Troost-Ekong and underneath goalkeeper Francis Uzoho.

That was the 2-0 lead at the break and everything felt set up for a big win, a complete performance and a perfect farewell to the Wembley crowd. What we got, after all that forward-looking novelty and youthful freedom, was a second-half straight from the repertoire of so many England teams before this one.

England conceded just two minutes after the restart, as Odion Ighalo charged through on goal, hit the post, and Alex Iwobi scored the rebound. That was a just reward for Nigeria’s superior energy and drive, which had been utterly lacking in the first half.

The problem for England was that the rest of the second half continued to be played on those terms. Suddenly Iwobi and Victor Moses were two of the best players on the pitch and England struggled to get near them. Cahill and Stones had to do far more desperate defending, hacking away crosses into the box, and England never looked confident in seeing out the game.

(PA (PA)

All of the possession, the sharp movement and clever patterns that England enjoyed in the first half were gone. They created almost nothing and their best attack of the second half was when Sterling dived in the vicinity of Nigerian keeper Uzoho and was booked for simulation.

Sure enough Danny Welbeck ,Marcus Rashford, Ruben Loftus-Cheek came on but England did not really pick up. Loftus-Cheek chipped a cross over Kane’s head, Rashford nodded a difficult effort wide, but that was the extent of it.

They held on to win, for whatever that is worth, and will go back to St George’s Park with more positives than negatives from the day. If they can produce the same against Costa Rica next week they will be happy with that, but the meaning of all of this will be disguised until two weeks on Monday.