Wales 0-2 England: Daily Mirror match report

So some of the questions were answered.

Fabio Capello does still have the players ready to play for him and the Italian is capable of tactical flexibility when the need requires.

Darren Bent has learned how to be in the right place at the right time and Ashley Young, at last, is able to recreate his Aston Villa form when he wears the Three Lions.

Scott Parker, finally given the chance he should have had in South Africa, might yet be the best natural holder at Capello’s disposal, Frank Lampard is not ready for the international knackers’ yard and John Terry is the captain the England players best respond to.

And most important of all, Jack Wilshere is a man in a boy’s body, ready to take up the reins for country as he has proven for his club.

But as Wilshere skipped across the Millennium Stadium turf, demonstrating just why he has leapfrogged Aaron Ramsey in the Arsenal pecking order, the biggest poser of all was dangling in front of Capello, Gunners and the England fans. Should he be sent back to the under-21 ranks this summer, to learn what tournament football is all about?

Or would doing so leave him vulnerable to burn-out and injury when Capello and England really need him for the Italian’s final shot at glory in Poland and Ukraine 12 months later.

We know what Arsene Wenger will think.

After all, the Arsenal chief is still seething over Theo Walcott’s inclusion in Stuart Pearce’s party in Sweden two years ago, blaming that for his form last season and his absence from the World Cup.

But didn’t we notice, after Bloemfontein, that Germany’s Manuel Neuer, Jerome Boateng, Sami Khedira, Mesut Ozil and Thomas Mueller had learned how to handle the pressures and win together in that under-21 final against Pearce’s men?

Didn’t we all agree we had to learn from Germany, Spain and Argentina, countries who take such tournaments seriously and tend to reap the rewards years down the line?

Capello wants Wilshere and Andy Carroll to play against Switzerland at Wembley in June, all the more so as Wayne Rooney’s latest act of ill-­discipline rules him out of the equation.

But on June 5, Capello believes the pair, plus ­Tottenham’s on-loan Kyle Walker, should be heading straight for Denmark, to get their heads around the extra pressures of playing for their country when ­expectations are high.

“The European under-21s is a really important ­tournament,” said Capello.

“This is a decision for Stuart Pearce and the Arsenal manager, Arsene Wenger.

“Jack has played a lot of games this season. He is a really important player for Arsenal.

“Now he is very ­important for us. But I think also for the under-21s.

“There are three really important players for the future of England – Carroll, Wilshere and Walcott.

“They can always play in the first eleven because they are really good players.

“I know that one Barcelona player, who plays for their first team and for Spain (Pedro) and is very important, has said ‘I want to play the under-21s’.

“And he wants to play, I can tell you. Of course it means they will not have that long a break this summer. I know.

“But it will be the same for the ones who go to South America for the under-20 World Cup.

“Carroll didn’t play for two months this year. It is possible it is good for him to play more games.

“It comes down to the ­relationship between Stuart and the players.”

The FA high command, plainly relieved the self-inflicted injuries of the past week or so had no effect on the England performance in Cardiff, are convinced that Wilshere and Carroll should be in Denmark, getting their first taste of hotel and base-camp conditions so it is not a shock next year.

There were no shocks in Cardiff, the atmosphere popped after just seven minutes as Lampard converted from the spot after James Collins clumsily downed the impressive Young.

England were at it from the off, hunting the ball down in packs as Parker patrolled in front of the back four, forcing errors out of the panicky Welsh and then hurting them when they regained ­possession.

Glen Johnson, solid in defence, terrific coming forward, made the second on 14 minutes when he released Young for Bent to make it three in three games this season.

After that it was done and dusted.

Parker, who had waited nearly four years for his second England start, took his chance with ­alacrity, and while Rooney’s ­indiscretion was a blot, the rest of the landscape looked far more positive.

“I hadn’t picked (Parker) before because we played another style,” explained Capello.

“This time we played different with three midfielders, where we’d always played with two in the centre before and Steven Gerrard coming in off the left.

“Parker is playing very well. Playing him in this important game shows I respect him and know the value of this player.”

If anything, it was too easy as England were able to go through the motions.

Young, though, fizzed down both flanks, Johnson and Ashley Cole – who refused to rise to the bait Craig Bellamy liberally ­sprinkled in his ­direction – augmented the attack and Lampard and ­especially, Wilshere thrived on the ­platform Parker provided.

With Wales woeful – Gary Speed’s job is more mountain than molehill – England eased off, although substitutes Stewart Downing and James Milner might have made it three before the end.

Bigger tests await. It is the English game that has to make the difficult call now, on Wilshere and Carroll.

Martin Lipton's Big Match Verdict: Capello's flexible changes offer respite from his rigid mistakes  

Wales 0-2 England: Daily Mirror player ratings