England win over Slovenia keeps them in World Cup

England 1 Slovenia 0. In the end they did it. After two dismal draws and rumours of mutiny England put in a much improved performance against Slovenia to make it into the last 16 of the World Cup.

Their 1-0 win, courtesy of a first-half strike from Jermain Defoe, still had elements of Jekyll and Hyde about it. But for the fans and players the most important thing was the result, which saw them through. And the final whistle at Port Elizabeth was greeted with cheers in the stands and a show of unity from the squad which came together for a group hug in the centre of the pitch.

But this was by no means a walk in the park. England, playing in all red, made a sluggish start and for the first 20 minutes looked the same tired and terrified outfit that performed so badly against Algeria last week.

That was until England's two new boys - James Milner and Defoe - combined to give England the lead. Milner, on the right wing, played a wonderful ball into the box and Defoe slipped his marker to fire home from six yards.

The impact that goal had on the rest of the team was extraordinary.  The players looked as if a weight had been lifted from their shoulders and the team that had shone in qualifying was back.

Wayne Rooney began to find space. Steven Gerrard, again deployed on the left, suddenly looked threatening rather than sullen. Frank Lampard started making runs through the centre. Passes were going to feet and England looked like one of the favourites for the tournament again.

For 15 minutes after the goal England were unstoppable and should have finished Slovenia off. Lampard blazed over after Slovenia keeper Samir Handanovic parried another Milner cross. Handanovic then made a great save to deny Gerrard after he linked up with Rooney in the box.

England upped the pressure again at the start of the second half and Defoe missed a simple chance after just 30 seconds when Rooney caught out the Slovenia defence with a quick corner. Five minutes later Rooney teed up Defoe again, but this time the Manchester United striker was offside in the build-up and the goal was ruled out. Soon afterwards John Terry almost headed home a corner and then Rooney went clean through on goal, but he scuffed his shot and Handanovic somehow got a fingertip to it and the ball hit the post.

At 1-0 there was always the prospect of a Slovenian equaliser that would have spelt disaster. England were given a major fright just after the hour mark, when first Terry and then Glen Johnson were forced into point-blank blocks in the box,  with Terry throwing himself headlong at the ball.

But by now England had decided to sit on their lead and Rooney and Defoe were replaced by Cole and Heskey.

They were almost made to pay for their earlier misses in stoppage time, but Matthew Upson made a wonderful challenge to dispossess Zlatko Dedic in the box.

In the end some expert corner-flagging tactics from Milner and Joe Cole saw England home and the party began. But there was heartbreak for Slovenia as a late USA goal against Algeria meant they were eliminated. England were also affected by that result as it means USA top Group C and England finish as runners-up and must play the winners of Group D on Sunday.

There will be time for sober analysis before that game, but for manager Fabio Capello, who looked unusually emotional at the final whistle, the result and the performance were the most important things.

"This is what I wanted to see - the spirit, see them fight together. I am really, really happy. I rediscovered the team I knew from qualification," he said. ·