England beat Germany 2-1

England are on top of the world after defeating Germany in an international friendly in Berlin last night.

The English scored first through defender Matthew Upson, and took the lead into half-time. However, a defensive mix-up in the second half saw German striker Patrick Helmes equalise.

It was the English who had the last word, as Johny Terry headed home his side’s second goal 6 minutes from time, handing Fabio Capello his biggest victory as England manager.

“I said when I started the job it is important that we got our confidence back and I think we are on the right path,” Capello said after watching his side defeat the Euro 2008 runners-up. “The players knew what I wanted them to do and they did exactly that, they played with a lot of confidence.”

The English will take encouragement from the fact that they were able to defend one of Europe’s most powerful national teams whilst fielding a line-up feature several second-string players. The likes of Wayne Rooney, Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard were all absent due to injury.

“There is no message to the players who were missing,” Capello concluded. “I am just happy with both the victory and the performance.”