How can this be seen as progress?

This was a woeful England performance and Fabio Capello has been in the game long enough to know that a dramatic improvement is required if his team are to qualify for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

The 2-2 draw with the Czech Republic on a wet night at Wembley highlighted all the familiar problems that gnawed at the management reigns of Steve McClaren and Sven-Goran Eriksson.

These friendlies have become increasingly meaningless and, in my opinion, are creating a negative atmosphere that England have to overcome when they play matches that matter.

Portsmouth manager Harry Redknapp, watching the game as a television pundit, was in no doubt.

He said: "If Steve McClaren had been in charge of that team, there would have been uproar. Wembley would have gone barmy.

"I've not seen a Fabio Capello team play worse than that. The second half was diabolical.

"Some of the players are not recognisable from the ones who play week-in, week-out in the Premier League. Steven Gerrard is not a left-winger. We are killing him.

"He has to be in the middle of the pitch and be part of the game. It's difficult to be optimistic after that."

Capello knows that ultimately he will be judged by whether England qualify for the World Cup finals - nothing else is relevant.

Nonetheless, like his predecessors, he finds himself regularly on the defensive as he tries to explain away lacklustre performances.

England were just seconds away from losing last night and, but for Joe Cole's scrambled goal in injury time, would have gone into next month's opening World Cup qualifiers with the jeers of a frustrated Wembley crowd still ringing in their ears.

"From a confidence point of view it was important that we didn't lose," said David Beckham.

"But we all know we can play better than that." Let's hope that Capello knows that, too.

He declared himself happy with the first-half performance and happy with the draw because it demonstrated a positive reaction from the team when they went a goal behind to Milan Baros in the 21st minute.

"I think we have taken another step forward," said the Italian coach. "Yes, I am happy. I think we are ready for the next game." As the next game is against Andorra in Barcelona he has every right to feel confident. Five days later, though, England face Croatia in Zagreb where a 2-0 defeat in October 2006 provided the first hint that McClaren's team might fail to qualify for the European Championship.

Croatia, who also beat McClaren's men 3-2 at Wembley in his last match as manager, are again England's main qualifying rivals and little of what we've seen from Capello's five games in charge suggest any serious improvement has taken place under the Italian. Defeat in Zagreb on 10 September will put Croatia firmly in the driving seat.

Last night's England line-up, as close as Capello could get to the team he wants to field in the opening qualifiers, was little more than a re-hash of the McClaren team that failed to qualify for Euro 2008.

The truth is that Capello has few options and, to be honest, the introduction of younger players like Jermaine Jenas, David Bentley and Stewart Downing in the second half coincided with a decline in England's effectiveness.

England's passing was poor throughout the game but Capello identified their vulnerability to counter-attacking football as the biggest problem. "It was the one thing I didn't like," he said.

"Sometimes, when the Czechs counter attacked we suffered. We have to study why.

"When a team plays a counter-attacking game it is not easy to score against them. The Czechs have a good side. They are difficult to beat. That's why I wanted to play against them."

This, remember, was a Czech side that failed to get beyond the group stage in Euro 2008 but they were clearly better for long stages last night, dominating Gerrard and Frank Lampard in midfield.

David James had already made one diving save from Baros when the Czech striker turned past John Terry, just restored to the captaincy, and fired a low shot beyond the dive of the England goalkeeper to open the scoring.

Just before the interval Wes Brown beat Petr Cech with a header from a Beckham corner but, soon after the re-start, Marek Jankulovski embarrassed a statuesque James with a swerving free-kick that put the Czechs back in front.

And so it stayed until the final moments of injury time when Cole scrambled in an equaliser that clearly thrilled Capello, braving the rain without an umbrella.

Much else, though, about this bleak performance evoked memories of McClaren's brief reign.