Are we now a force to be reckoned with?

England 3 Russia 0 (Owen 2, Ferdinand)

Well well well. Who would have thought it eh? Six points in two games, and when was the last time you could put the words 'England' and 'entertaining' in the same sentence?

McLaren actually got something right by putting out the same side which beat Israel on Saturday. They played as a team, the tempo and movement was good, and the confidence was there for all to see. This performance will make it a difficult decision for the manager in the next game, when more players will be back from injury (namely Rooney), however, I would personally not change a thing.

Michael Owen is definitely back on form scoring two goals and that takes his overall tally to 40 in 85 appearances - a great record! Heskey again had a good game - noticeably winning the majority of headers. This is the area in which he is stronger than Crouch in my opinion, even though Crouch is several inches taller. Gerrard and Barry are proving to be a good partnership in the centre of midfield, the latter I would give 'man of the match' overall this week. He hardly put a foot wrong, and although he is not a player I would have put on the team sheet before last weekend, he has done a great job. It seems like having players unavailable has been our saving grace.

Being 2-0 down at half time, Russia then came out with more clout in the second. They could have easily made the game level when England made a couple of defensive errors. However, this pressure was thankfully short-lived and England again controlled the match.

So are England once again a force to be reckoned with, or would we need to see them beat one of the world's best before we get carried away?