Steven Gerrard pays back the confidence of Fabio Capello

While all the headlines will undoubtedly focus on Robert Green and his ugly error, one man emerged from a disappointing evening in Rustenburg with plenty of credit. England captain Steven Gerrard scored his side’s only goal and looked dangerous every time he was in possession and Kevin McCara, writing in the Guardian, believes the Liverpool man’s performance provides plenty of reason for England fans to retain faith in an otherwise misfiring team.

No one likes a know-all. Well, perhaps with the exception of an oracular Fabio Capello. The England manager had announced that Steven Gerrard would prosper at the World Cup despite his hard times at Liverpool. Maybe the Italian foresaw it would be a liberation for the midfielder to be freed from the poor results and unsatisfactory team-mates at his club.

Capello's reputation for clairvoyance was, of course, imperfect and he cannot have anticipated the nerve-ridden state of Robert Green, who had little to do before he ushered Clint Dempsey's attempt into the net for an equaliser, but it was disturbing that a confidence in the new-found durability of Ledley King also turned out to be overstated. The seeming recurrence of James Milner's illness was unhelpful, too.

Amid that confusion in Rustenburg, the roles of Wayne Rooney and Gerrard were all the more significant. The pair embody the spontaneity and explosiveness essential to any prospect England now have of impressing despite this result. The side has counted on Rooney, whose nine goals steered the team towards the World Cup.

Further assets, however, were essential for the steeper challenges in South Africa. Gerrard was being willed towards excellence and Capello's judiciousness fostered helpful circumstances for him. There was never any prospect of hand-wringing over the supposed quandary of a partnership that had to be composed of Gerrard and Frank Lampard while Gareth Barry is absent.

The pair have been regarded as so incompatible a duo it is a wonder that they have never been sent for marriage counselling. Capello, of course, is particularly unlikely to concern himself with anyone's opinions and had his own view of the relationship. Predecessors have fooled themselves into believing Gerrard and Lampard could be left to work out matters in the field, with one sitting when the other gets a notion to attack.

No such woolliness is feasible for Capello and when England were in possession it was Gerrard's task to get close to the attack while Lampard exercised discipline and stayed nearer the centre-halves. The Liverpool player has been a beneficiary of Italian tailoring. Gerrard was so far advanced that he went clear to put England ahead in the fourth minute. Close to the half-hour mark he was still causing havoc as he turned Michael Bradley in a promising area.

Individualists like Gerrard depend on a solid context, but England's organisation crumbled and not only because of King's trouble. Rooney, seeing the confusion, may not so much have been nondescript as intent on distributing passes that would bring about some order. In the 18th minute his judicious ball to the right had Aaron Lennon haring in to spark panic among the opposition.

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