The World Cup qualifying programme is barely hours old, yet England's participation in 2010 is already the subject of intense speculation.

No change there then. This, after all, is just the latest familiar chapter in the unfolding story of England's attempt to rediscover the golden age.

But for Joe Cole's second-half intervention, England might have been travelling to Croatia with heads bowed, derision ringing in their ears and memories of Steve McClaren's 2-0 defeat in Zagreb in 2006 fuelling serious worries about their qualification prospects.

As it is, the first-half performance in Barcelona ranked among the most inept I've seen in more than 40 years of watching England.

It was Cole's introduction from the substitute's bench, along with Emile Heskey, that changed the nature of England's threat and, in the end, secured a 2-0 victory.

Manager Fabio Capello knew that England's contribution was barely adequate against a team ranked 186th in the world. But, in the end, barely adequate was just about enough.

It won't be anything like enough on Wednesday. Croatia are ranked fifth in the world and finished comfortably above England in their Euro 2008 qualification table.

Capello can console himself with the thought that whatever team he selects in Zagreb, they couldn't possibly play with less wit and initiative than we saw against Andorra's part-timers.

The Italian was quick to recognise the flaws in his strategy and, after the interval, played Heskey at the front with Cole replacing the woeful Stewart Downing.

At times, Cole can be frustratingly unpredictable but he, at least, is a player of skill, invention and spontaneity, able to lift England from their usual midfield drudgery.

His two goals on Saturday, combined with that face-saving equaliser in the 2-2 friendly draw with the Czech Republic last month, mean he should be in Capello's line-up on Wednesday.

Although Arsenal's Theo Walcott enjoyed success on the right flank - thanks largely to indifferent marking - I also feel that a player of David Beckham's experience might be more valuable in front of an intimidating crowd in the early stages in Zagreb.

I thought the former England captain would have been consigned to the history books by now but he is still with us - clear evidence of the scarcity of international-class England players in the Premier League.

Progress, as we saw on Saturday, is going to be painfully slow, though this latest chapter in England's sad decline was missed at home by the vast majority of fans because the subscription channel Setanta can't agree a fee for highlights with the terrestrial channels.

More performances like Saturday's embarrassment and Capello will be relieved there are so few witnesses.