SUBS SINK EGYPT AS ENGLAND GET IT RIGHT

England 3 Egypt 1

CROUCH: Dramatic impact off the bench

AT half-time, England trailed to Mohamed Zidan's superbly-taken opener and the mood at Wembley was not good.

So much for dreaming of glory in the World Cup finals as a team that didn't even qualify for South Africa were rewarded for a fearless 45 minutes with the lead at the interval.

John Terry was being jeered in some quarters, albeit from the minority, and Theo Walcott gave the impression of being thrust straight from schoolboy football into the big time.

Even Frank Lampard's usually clinical touch had deserted him and England looked disjointed.

A front pairing of Wayne Rooney and Jermain Defoe, despite their individual merits, simply doesn't seem to function. They've yet to score while forming a partnership and were well shackled by the Egyptian defence.

It was a stuttering performance from one of the favourites to go all the way this summer.

So Fabio Capello acted decisively in introducing Peter Crouch and Michael Carrick in place of Defoe and Lampard.

Both substitutes were to have major impacts on the game with Shaun Wright-Phillips equally impressive when Walcott was finally put out of his misery seconds after Crouch fired the hosts back onto level terms.

Wright-Phillips edged England ahead when Essam El Hadary made a bit of a fool of himself and crossed for Crouch to net again to wrap things up.

What a difference it made to Wembley as the belief surged back through the team and all the way around the stadium.

Even Terry got a rousing cheer when making one timely intervention.

So there are reasons to be positive going into a lengthy break before the next international fixture, which isn't due until after Capello names his provisional squad.

And Crouch, Carrick and Wright-Phillips can all expect to be getting their passports ready. Leighton Baines also performed capably at left-back and James Milner did enough in his cameo to suggest his place on the plane is also cemented.

England started brightly enough as Rooney fed Walcott but the Arsenal winger's cut-back was drilled straight at El Hadary by Lampard.

It should have been the perfect pick-me-up but Egypt showed the sort of confidence winning major tournaments like the African Cup of Nations brings by responding in convincing fashion.

Defoe had to clear a Wael Gomaa effort off the line with Robert Green rather static and Zidan flashed a drive over the top.

Zidan is a class act and he made the most of a Matthew Upson slip on 23 minutes to open the scoring.

Hosmi Abd Rabou's pass was expertly controlled by the Borussia Dortmund forward, who found himself in the clear with marker Upson grounded. His side-footed finish generated remarkable power as it arrowed its way past Green and into the net to stun the home fans.

Rooney dropped a header wide from a Steven Gerrard pass before Lampard kicked wastefully into the ground and wide after Gareth Barry got a touch to a Baines corner as England aimed to hit back.

Defoe, as he always does, mustered a couple of efforts - a header from a Wes Brown cross and a shot that forced a smart save out of El Hadary, following an Upson through ball.

But England lacked spark and quality.

There was little sign at half-time that they would end up winning this game comfortably.

Rooney and Zidan traded shots before the home side suddenly clicked into top gear with a goal of the highest order.

As the clock was about to tick to the 56th minute, Carrick found Gerrard who, in turn, released Barry on the right side of the attack. The Manchester City midfielder's inviting centre was swept home superbly first-time by Crouch to change the atmosphere completely.

With Wright-Phillips thrown on to audition his claims for a World Cup spot, this was a chance he was prepared to take with both hands.

Gerrard dragged a shot wide when Crouch flicked a Carrick pass into his path and Rooney was unlucky to be penalised for a shove when he executed an overhead kick that flew over after Wright-Phillips' cross generated panic in the Egyptian box.

Rooney then shot wastefully across goal when released by a Carrick through ball as England turned the screw.

There was a brief scare at the other end when the Africans' super-sub Geddo outstripped Terry for pace but could only send his shot away from Green's goal.

Moments later, England went ahead.

Busy sub Milner fired in a shot that El Hadary decided to beat out rather than attempt to catch it. Wright-Phillips crashed the rebound goalwards and it swerved menacingly away from the veteran keeper, who could only get a left hand to it and help it into the net.

DOUBLE ACT: Wright-Phillips and Crouch

It was a little fortunate and Egypt can also argue the third goal, five minutes later, was offside.

Crouch was ahead of the last man when moving onto another Wright-Phillips cross after a lovely give-and-go between the diminutive wide man and Brown.

That's 20 goals in 37 games for Crouch at international level.

He may have lost his Tottenham place to in-form Roman Pavlyuchenko but never mind wondering about the target man being on the plane. He really should be starting alongside Rooney.

England, reassuringly, didn't need a goal from their talismanic front-man who passed on the captain's armband to Barry when being replaced by Carlton Cole towards the end.

It was never going to go back to Terry, after he was stripped of the honour by Capello.

But that's just a sideshow to the main event.

England are still in good heart and good form ahead of the finals.

This was a tough examination and a difficult first half but the substitutes, in particular, showed how desperately they want to prove they're worth a place in the squad.

Capello has plenty of food for thought and it's matters on the pitch that will be focusing his mind at last.