Germany 1-2 England: John Terry shows England's missing stars how it's done

And even if two of the ghosts of Steve McClaren's last miserable night threatened to deny Fabio Capello's dominant understudies the win they truly deserved here, there is something growing under the Italian that makes the future ever brighter.

Hard to believe but it was almost exactly 12 months ago that McClaren's reign ended amid that Wembley monsoon, the Wally with the Brolly taking England's Euro 2008 dreams down the plughole with him.

England could go no lower yet while the resurrection under Capello can only be confirmed in South Africa in 2010, in Berlin's historic Olympic Stadium, the emergence of a real side was given further dramatic impetus.

Last night, it did not matter that Rio Ferdinand, Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, Theo Walcott and Wayne Rooney were missing, as the seamless transition orchestrated by Gareth Barry and Michael Carrick played the Germans off the park.

Yes, the Germans were without Michael Ballack and Phillip Lahm, but played with zero intensity. They were rightly jeered off at half-time and the final whistle after John Terry gave the scoreline a justified reflection of the game.

But that should not take away the maturity and calmness of Capello's side, with Barry and Carrick providing the platform. Stewart Downing gave his best England display yet, Shaun Wright-Phillips demonstrated his talents and Gabriel Agbonlahor proved he deserves another chance.

The same, however, surely cannot be said for Scott Carson and Darren Bent, who in the space of 60 mad seconds could have thrown away a victory Terry's towering header finally secured.

Neither Carson or Bent had appeared in an England shirt since that infamous evening, when the keeper's slippery hands sent McClaren skidding to obscurity and the Spurs striker blew his last-gasp chance to save the manager's bacon.

And after coming off the bench at the break, both were transported back in time with the sort of events that define a player's career for all the wrong reasons. England, coasting after Matthew Upson took advantage of a blunder by home keeper Rene Adler, were in the driving seat only for it all to change just after the hour.

First, when the increasingly impressive Glen Johnson slid through to Bent, yards offside but given the okay to carry on, he went round Adler's replacement Tim Wiese to earn himself an open goal only to somehow miss the gaping target.

And less than a minute later, Carson's total communication breakdown with Terry, failing to show any decisiveness and ending up in no-man's land as the skipper held off Thomas Helmes, allowed the German substitute to nudge between his legs and roll home.

Had that been the final goal of the evening, it would have been a travesty.

From the outset, with Agbonlahor showing real menace and Barry and Carrick taking a grip on the midfield battleground, England were in utter control as Downing and Wright-Phillips took their opportunities to impress.

Their reward came on 24 minutes, Adler missing Downing's corner under pressure from Jermain Defoe, with Upson on hand to prod home his first England strike from four yards. After that, there could easily have been more, with only the final pass lacking - Agbonlahor failed to find Wright-Phillips when he had a clear run at goal - and Adler was forced to repel Downing's raking drive.

The second half brought more of the same, England in effortless command only for it all to appear to be spoilt as Bent missed so badly and Carson's jitterbugs came out to play.

But where England might have been excused for accepting the draw, they simply went up through the gears, the one moment of danger seeing Carson dive to his right to save from Marko Marin. Agbonlahor, played in down the right, tried to be a little too cute and steered just outside the near post, before Downing's free-kick had Wiese scrabbling down to his left to fumble away 20 minutes from time.

Then Wright-Phillips, taking advantage of Theo Walcott's misfortune, surged forward to be denied by the post after a vicious 25-yarder.

But with seven minutes to go Terry strode up to arc a header from Downing's free-kick past Wiese. A year on from the low of lows, England can start dreaming of the sort of highs that will never be forgotten. We have become a real team again.

Attendance
74,244

Hero of the match
Gareth Barry: Was outstanding and is becoming a first-choice midfeidler

Villain of the match
Scott Carson: Another disaster as his mix-up gifted Germany their equaliser

England's next three games
Sat Mar 28: Slovakia (h) WC qual
Wed Apr 1: Ukraine (h) WC qual
Wed Jun 6: Kaz'stan (a) WC qual

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