Gerrard emerges from a cold spell

London: The post-World Cup thaw in relations between the public and England will take a while longer but Steven Gerrard has certainly come in from the cold.

Fabio Capello can never again waste Gerrard on the left. Never. Not after this. Not after a majestic, match-winning display in the middle.

Capello looked at three systems, a first half of 4-3-3, then bad old 4-4-2 during which Hungary scored, albeit fortuitously with a deflection off Phil Jagielka that never crossed the line, before the 4-2-3-1 approach that paid such rich dividends when Gerrard pushed on and punished Hungary, scoring from range and then showing wonderful deftness.

Perhaps fearful of being booed, Capello never once entered the technical area, although an impressive Wembley crowd of 72,034 appeared in forgiving mood.

As well as Gerrard's central credentials, Joe Hart's right to the No.1 shirt was confirmed, particularly with a late save from Zoltan Gera, while Adam Johnson did well on either flank.

Ruled offside

Gerrard also relished the first-half opportunity to link up with Wayne Rooney, sending his friend through on goal early on.

As an appreciative Wembley stood hopefully, Rooney found the mark but was rightly ruled offside. With Gerrard liberated from the left, Adam Johnson, wearing No. 9, took responsibility for that flank and was swiftly involved. Within two minutes the Manchester City winger had eluded Krisztian Vadocz and then Balazs Dzsudzsak, showing the touch, little burst of acceleration and sense of adventure that England could have done with in South Africa.

Johnson almost capped a lively start with a goal after 12 minutes, following a wonderful flowing move.

Gerrard, pulling the strings, threatening to throttle Hungary, found Glen Johnson on the right, whose first-time ball released Theo Walcott. The Arsenal flier raced into the box, sneaking a quick glance to check on his teammates' movement.

Walcott perfectly placed his cutback into the path of Adam Johnson, who drew sighs with a wasteful shot that soared over the bar. How England could have done with that goal to settle them, to give instant credibility to the 4-3-3 system that was changed to 4-4-2 at the break. Johnson's club-mate, Joe Hart, was also involved, demonstrating his assertiveness by speeding from his line to punch clear a corner from Dzsudzsak