English avoid last orders

IT HAS taken a very English-style one-man mutiny, a heap of criticism and no end of tension but England have made it through to the last 16 of the World Cup, and they did it by having a glass of beer.

Fabio Capello, the super-strict disciplinarian famed for his list of stringent rules, took a leaf out of Brian Clough’s book last night to inspire his team to victory at last in South Africa.

A goal scored by Jermain Defoe, chosen ahead of Emile Heskey, and created by James Milner, who was picked ahead of Aaron Lennon, was enough to beat Slovenia and earn England second place in Group C despite a miserable start to the tournament that had involved grinding out draws against the USA and Algeria.