Fabio Capello's make-or-break year has traditional slow start

That, at least, will be his public stance after a woeful first-half performance in which England presented Holland with two gift-wrapped goals.

In private, though, Capello and his staff will reflect on the careless examples of defensive play that, in the end, provided the motivation for substitutes Jermain Defoe, Carlton Cole and James Milner to rescue England.

So, after 18 months paddling in the shallows, Capello is about to get a taste of the real thing. World Cup year makes and breaks England coaches - and the history books tell us that it breaks far more than it makes.

The Italian coach is about to steer England through the minefield of a World Cup year for the first time and, after last night's 2-2 draw in the Amsterdam Arena, he already knows that the months ahead will be full of unexpected twists and turns.

This latest England performance, against a team currently ranked third in the world, revealed some worrying flaws defensively and also served to remind Capello and his team that nothing in the final run-up to a World Cup is ever straightforward.

Even Sir Alf Ramsey, the only national team manager to emerge triumphant from the World Cup, started 1965-66 with a result that did nothing to suggest his team were good enough to beat West Germany in the final at Wembley at the end of that season.

A goalless draw with Wales, followed three weeks later by a 3-2 defeat against Austria at Wembley, had the crowd jeering and the tabloids calling for Ramsey's head.

Nor was Ramsey the only national coach embarrassed by the opening fixture in World Cup year.

Sven Goran Eriksson suffered similarly twice - beaten 2-0 by Holland at White Hart Lane in August 2001 and 4-1 by Denmark in Copenhagen in August 2005.

Ron Greenwood's team, unbeaten at the 1982 World Cup finals in Spain, were famously humiliated with a 2-1 defeat in Norway at the start of the season and Sir Bobby Robson greeted his first World Cup year with a 1-1 draw with Romania at Wembley in September 1985.

Capello has been around too long to read too much of significance into the first result of the season - especially as England were playing before a ball had been kicked in the Premier League.

With a ticket to the finals just one win away, Capello might think qualification a formality, and he might be right - but last night's inconsistencies were a timely reminder of the unpredictable nature of England in World Cup year.