While Fabio Capello may still be puzzled by the cruel whims of the Wembley crowd, he has quickly recognised a simple truth that most of his predeccessors were eventually forced to accept that England are most effective playing in a 4-4-2 formation.

The best coaches are those who acknowledge their mistakes and have the guile to do something about them and that is precisely what Capello did when Kazakhstan threatened to write yet another chapter in England's recent catalogue of humilations.

Capello's best player is Wayne Rooney and, after wasting his talent for 45 minutes in a wide position on the left, the Italian coach held up his hands and restored the Manchester United striker to the place where he offers the greatest threat to the opposition.

Hopefully, the Italian coach will retain the 22-year-old as the support striker to Emile Heskey when the World Cup qualification campaign continues against Belarus in Minsk on Wednesday evening.

Rooney's second-half contribution, totally justifiying Capello's decision to revert to a familiar 4-4-2 line-up, provided England with the platform for a 5-1 victory that glossed over a largely unimpressive team performance.

But another win in Minsk would be the first time that England have started a World Cup qualifying campaign with four straight wins, suggesting that, in Capello, the FA might finally have found a coach capable of getting the best out of the team in the matches that matter.

The coach has to shoulder the bulk of the blame if he gets the strategy wrong as Capello did in the first half on Saturday. But, by removing Gareth Barry and summoning Shaun Wright-Phillips to play wide on the left, Capello was able to give his players the structure that best suits them.

Capello will be tempted to leave out either Wright-Phillips or the disappointing Theo Walcott to accommodate the stoic Barry for a much tougher midfield challenge in Minsk. The Aston Villa man was anonymous for much of the first half at Wembley but has shown that he can be invaluable in the holding role.

To be honest, Frank Lampard and Steve Gerrard, together in the centre of midfield for the second period, did little to suggest that they can form a natural partnership. Capello will do well to recall the success of his four man midfield in the 4-1 win in Croatia last month, when Lampard played alongside Barry and Rooney's pace and movement combined with Heskey's muscular presence to give England a formidable attacking partnership.

A goal in Zagreb and two more against Kazakhstan surely gave Capello all the encouragement he needs to play the shaven-headed United striker in a position where his quality can make a real difference and help secure England's place in South Africa in 2010.