England 3 Mexico 1

Beckham watches from the stands as a new look England side takes the field to see if they can make an impact on a Mexico side who should be able to hold their own against most of the rest of the world. A shaky start saw neither team dominating, but Ledley King scored after 16 minutes from a set-piece which should have settled England down, but they failed to really get a grip on the game. King's second goal in an England shirt came from a corner knocked down by Crouch and headed in leaving the 'keeper no chance.
Rob Green showed real class in goal for England with a couple of excellent saves to keep them ahead in the game. Crouch bundled in a goal from a Rooney header that struck the bar on 34 minutes which should have settled England down a little, but they still remained edgy giving silly chances away at the back. It was on the very final stroke of the half that Mexico themselves managed to bundle the ball through the legs of Leighton Baines to pull one back. 2-1 going into the break.
Glen Johnson settled nerves 90 seconds after the re-start by scoring a cracker coming inside on his left foot and placing the ball right in the far corner. This had the desired affect and England looked more comfortable in the second half. As Gerrard was forced off the ball on 65 mins, the crowd began to warm up and the whole atmosphere became much more like a proper World Cup match. Milner rolled the resulting free-kick to Gerrard who narrowly missed the target.
England continued to push and to soak up the pressure from Mexico, looking more assured at the back in the second half.
The performance was reminiscent of England's qualifying campaign - guaranteed to score plenty of goals, but also guaranteed to let the opposition get behind their defence - only a truly World Class goalie need apply for this job...
Nevertheless, this type of performance should get us through the group stages, against the big boys, a plan B may be required... Japan next, then a game against local opposition in South Africa will prepare the team just 5 days before they meet the USA for the first game of the 2010 World Cup.