England show signs of life

So this is how it was supposed to be. Balanced, patient, organised and occasionally imaginative - almost everything England could not be described as at Euro 2000 they were here on Saturday night. For most of the game they even looked like an international football team.

Perhaps the biggest compliment of all for England was that France tried. England made them do so. Worries that the night was going to be turned into some form of casual testimonial for Didier Deschamps and Laurent Blanc, worries not alleviated by the extended flower-giving ceremonies before kick-off, were eradicated within 60 seconds when Dennis Wise left Zinedine Zidane crumpled near the touchline clutching his head. Thereafter the tackles were regularly robust and Zidane was eventually booked by a lenient referee for seeking revenge for Wise's initial indiscretion.

Earlier Zidane had got away with a stamp on the Chelsea captain. That was not the only running battle: Marcel Desailly squared up to Martin Keown in the second half and pointed to the scoreboard to make his point - France were winning 1-0 at the time; and at the end Frank Leboeuf and David Beckham appeared to exchange most unfriendly pleasantries as they headed down the tunnel. As Kevin Keegan was to say afterwards: "You saw a real game out there."

After the European Championships debacle that was a novel phrase from Keegan's lips. This was not a haphazard English affair, not bizarre, not incoherent, but a real performance based on organisation and understanding. However the improvement was stumbled upon, Keegan will earn whispered praise for evolving.

Being in a corner, they had to. Gareth Barry was in Keegan's summer squad but never started. Here the 19-year-old from Aston Villa showed why he should have. Having a left foot helps, and Barry knows how to use it. His willingness to ease into midfield during the first half also gave England more options which, with Paul Scholes dropping back from Andy Cole, meant that England had six midfielders at times. That is double the number they had for most of Euro 2000. No wonder their ball retention was better.

Consequently David Beckham's debut as the midfield "axiale" was less fraught than it might have been. Beckham still has a tendency to reach for the longbow when a short dart would do but he liased intelligently with Scholes and Nicky Barmby, and it was Beckham who initiated the England equaliser three minutes from the end when he slid the ball to substitute Steve McManaman in England's half rather than arrowing it long toward another substitute, Michael Owen.

From McManaman on the left the ball went to a third replacement, Kieron Dyer, on the right and Dyer delivered a thigh-high inswinger that Owen met on the run and volleyed slickly past Bernard Lama. The goal was almost Romanian in its development and the quality of Owen's finish suggested he may at last - that is, at the age of 20 - be returning to the player launched onto the world stage in France two years ago.

Emmanuel Petit had given the world champions the lead. Zidane's last contribution before his substitution supplied Petit, whose 20-yard shot went through the legs of Gareth Southgate and past David Seaman. Seaman again had some unconvincing moments.

France: Lama, Lizarazu, Blanc (Leboeuf 58), Desailly, Thuram (Candela 79), Petit, Deschamps (Vieira 58), Djorkaeff, Zidane (Pires 66), Anelka (Wiltord 45), Henry (Trezeguet 73). Subs Not Used: Barthez, Micoud, Karembeu, Dugarry, Rame.

England: Seaman, Campbell, Adams (Southgate 45), Keown, Barry, Anderton (Dyer 69), Beckham, Wise, Barmby (McManaman 82), Scholes (Owen 78), Cole. Subs Not Used: Martyn, P Neville, Ince, Smith, James. Att: 70,000.