[1]A spectacular solo strike from Glen Johnson lit up an otherwise workmanlike performance from England as Fabio Capello’s side notched up a 3-1 win over fellow World Cup qualifiers Mexico at Wembley on Monday.
Ledley King marked his first appearance in an England shirt since 2007 with the opening goal and Peter Crouch made it 21 goals in 38 internationals as England recovered from a shaky start to claim control of their final home friendly before they head for South Africa.
The West Ham striker, Guillermo Franco, responded for Mexico on the stroke of half-time but Johnson’s lovely, left-footed effort, just after the interval, ensured the encounter finished with a scoreline that was morale-boosting if a little flattering for the hosts.
With Gareth Barry out through injury and Frank Lampard rested along with his FA Cup-winning Chelsea team-mates, Capello granted Michael Carrick and James Milner the opportunity to impress with starts in central midfield.
Neither man made a compelling case for promotion and that was also the case for King, whose defensive lapses might have gifted Mexico a couple of first half goals.
Leighton Baines had a better night filling in for Ashley Cole at left-back in a starting line-up that suggests Theo Walcott, on the right wing, and Peter Crouch, alongside Wayne Rooney in attack, are in line to start England’s World Cup opener, against the United States in Rustenburg on June 12.
England’s first goal followed an opening period dominated by the Mexicans, who were unfortunate not to be denied an early penalty when Franco turned King in the box and had his shirt pulled by the Tottenham defender before he fired wide.
There was another moment of anxiety for the home supporters when Ricardo Osario’s driven cross skidded across the goalmouth before King headed England into the lead.
Gerrard’s corner from the left found Crouch at the back post and the striker’s knockdown fell invitingly for his unmarked Tottenham teammate to power a header past Oscar Perez.
In Johannesburg, World Cup hosts South Africa stretched their unbeaten run to nine games since the return of coach Carlos Alberto Parreira with a 1-1 draw against Bulgaria.
South Africa took a 20th-minute lead in front of some 30,000 fans at the Orlando Stadium when defender Siyabonga Sangweni headed home a corner unmarked at the back post.
Bulgaria levelled the score through Italian-based striker Valeri Bojinov 11 minutes later.
A defensive lapse cost the home side a third successive win but Parreira, who returned as coach last November, continued to experiment with the side, starting with only locally-based players and bringing on his more established names after the interval.
Elsewhere, two-time World Cup winners Argentina eased to a 5-0 victory over Canada for a morale-boosting win ahead of flying to South Africa on Friday for the World Cup finals.
Even without the side’s superstar Lionel Messi, who was rested and sat watching from the stands, the Argentinians had little trouble from one of the game’s minnows as they cruised to a fifth successive victory this year, albeit three have come against second tier opposition. Nevertheless Argentina’s unpredictable coach Diego Maradona was delighted with the performance and the outcome in what was the largest victory recorded by his side since he assumed the post at the end of 2008.
In Portugal, lacklustre Portugal were held to a disappointing 0-0 home draw by 117th-ranked Cape Verde.
Portugal were slow and predictable throughout, making it easy for Cape Verde to apply an ultra-defensive strategy.
The hosts’ first chance was a long-distance effort by Pedro Mendes that forced a fine save on 18 minutes.
The Portuguese winger saw most of the ball and left back Fabio Coentrao and Nani linked up well. Mendes almost scored when he wandered to the right side on the half hour, his first-time shot calling keeper Fock into make another good save. — Agencies
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