Crouch saves England’s blushes at Wembley

England 3 Egypt 1. Super sub Peter Crouch rescued England last night with two second-half goals that helped see off a spirited Egyptian side.  Crouch's double, along with a strike from substitute Shaun Wright-Phillips, added a gloss to the scoreline that the hosts didn't deserve after a poor first-half display that had the Wembley fans booing them down the tunnel at half-time.

Nonetheless, thanks to Crouch's brace England coach Fabio Capello began 2010 with an important victory against the 17th ranked side in the world. Having won the African Cup of Nations in January – and beaten world champions Italy 1-0 in last year's Confederations Cup – the North Africans came to Wembley looking to cause an upset, and that appeared to be on the cards when the outstanding Mohamed Zidan rifled a shot past Rob Green's left hand in the 24th minute.

England created several scoring opportunities themselves in the first 45 minutes but Frank Lampard squandered the best two, and Jermain Defoe's well-struck shot was blocked by El Hadari in the visitors' goal.

So Capello rang the changes at half-time, sending on Crouch for Defoe and Michael Carrick for the disappointing Lampard. The effect was immediate as England began to stretch the Egyptian defence and on 56 minutes Crouch levelled the scores. Skipper Steven Gerrard – anonymous in the first half – picked out Gareth Barry on the right and his cross was steered into the Egyptian net.

Then on 75 minutes England took the lead when substitute James Milner's stinging drive from the edge of the area was only parried half clear by El Hadari. Wright-Phillips seized on the rebound and his swerving shot beat the off-balance keeper.

Crouch made it 3-1 five minutes later – though he was clearly offside as he latched on to the end of Wright-Phillips' cross – with his 20th international goal in 37 matches. "He played well with some good touches," was how Capello described the super sub's performance, adding: "Peter Crouch is a big option for me because sometimes you can play long balls. In the second half that made the difference because when you go forward the other team go for him. I am happy he had a lot of chances but I have to pick a lot of players. Crouch is one of the players."

Asked what he had said to his players at half-time after their lacklustre first-half display, Capello replied: "I tell the players we need to press ball and win back the ball quickly."

The victory and the manner in which England rallied in the second-half will create some interesting decisions for Capello when he comes to select his World Cup squad. Yet again Gerrard and Lampard failed to impose themselves in an England shirt, and although Theo Walcott started brightly he soon faded out of the game before being replaced by Wright-Phillips. As for Crouch he's all but booked his seat on the plane to South Africa after his double.

Another player who enjoed a solid display was former skipper John Terry. Stripped of the captain's armband by Capello last month for his extra-marital affair, Terry was well-received by the Wembley crowd and he rewarded them with a committed performance. "Thank you for the crowd. They supported the team and John Terry," said Capello. "This was a most important game for him after what happened outside the pitch. He played a fantastic game like I know he can do at this level." ·