TWO SUPERIOR finishing touches amid a grey sea of inferior football enabled England to pick up the thread of their quest for a place in the 1998 World Cup here in Wembley last night. It was just as well that the firm of Sheringham and Shearer does not close early on Wednesdays.

A header from Teddy Sheringham two minutes from the end of the first half and a shot of typical ferocity from Alan Shearer in stoppage time at the finish of the second enabled Glenn Hoddle's latest selection to repeat the 2-0 win over Georgia that England had achieved in Tbilisi last November with a rather more thoughtful and markedly more accomplished performance.

Given that Shearer's cross led to the first goal and Sheringham's back heel, at an indirect free kick, the second, it is clear that without the partnership which had done so much for England in last summer's European Championship the remainder of Hoddle's team might have been hard pressed to avoid a further embarrassment to follow the 1-0 home defeat by Italy in February.

As it is, with the Italians beating Poland 3-0 last night to preserve their four-point lead at the top of the group, England's fourth World Cup win in five games has strengthened their chances of qualifying automatically as the best runners-up and avoiding the chore of a play-off. Victory in Poland in a month's time would make this even more likely, but given the ordinariness of much of England's football last night such a hypothesis, at the moment, is a little rash.

Take away Sheringham and Shearer and you have an athletic but unimaginative midfield which attempted to use Robert Lee and Paul Ince in forward roles with David Batty mounting guard behind them. Individually all three did reasonably well but collectively they did not add up to much because none could claim to be among the game's more sparkling innovators.

David Beckham shook off his tiredness and showed some imagination on one flank, and Le Saux was an important influence on the other. England pressed forward for much of the game and eventually disrupted Georgia's tight marking. Yet so much of their football was pedestrian in areas where it needed to be sharp and imaginative.

The performance shrieked out for a young Paul Gascoigne, Peter Beardsley or Darren Anderton to provide something to unlock Georgia's defences instead of simply hammering on the door. At least Sheringham, Beckham and Shearer showed touches of the locksmith's art while others searched for their keys.

Had Georgia's finishing matched their better movements England might have been in deep trouble. As it was David Seaman, unlike Irakil Zoidze, did not have to make a serious save, although a shot from Tskhadadze, the Georgia captain, did clip the England crossbar a quarter of an hour from the end.

Sol Campbell repeated his sound defensive performance of Tbilisi, making several important interceptions, but Hoddle's defence began to wobble in the second half when Giorgi Kinkladze and the Newcastle bound Temur Ketsbaia began to thread their way through it. The departure of the injured Kinkladze just past the hour probably spared England even more discomfort.

As expected the smooth surface suited Georgia's passing game. England by contrast looked laboured. When a cross of quality was produced. Paul Ince having benefited from clever play by Beckham Sheringham headed wide when he should have scored.

Towards half time Le Saux's passes began to turn Georgia on the left. The Blackburn defender found Shearer on the left and from the England captain's centre Sheringham, his clever run outwitting the defence, headed Ed] firmly into the lead.

Sheringham had also put England in front in Tbilisi but Hoddle's players could hardly afford to be complacent, not with, Gocha Dzhamarauli opening the second half with an ambitious dribble through the defence on the left. He wasted the chance, but then a slip by Le Saux allowed, Gocha Gogrichiani a clear route to goal on the left and, although Seaman was quick to leave his line and meet the danger, the Georgian should have done more with the time and space he had.

As England's need for a second goal became increasingly apparent, Zoidze just managed to turn a bouncing shot from Beckham past a post. Then, just as it looked as though England were going to win by the narrowest margin, Zoidze, having saved well from Lee, handled a panicky back pass from Gela Shekiladze and after much delay Sheringham's heel and Shearer's instep ended the evening with a flourish that was somewhat out of context with much of what had gone before.