The team ranked 186th in the world frustrated England for 45 minutes, as they did 18 months ago when Steve McClaren suffered abuse from his own fans.

Steven Gerrard turned the game around at the Olympic Stadium in Barcelona that evening, and Chelsea midfielder Cole did so this time around.

After being brought on at the interval, he scored twice within 10 minutes, adding to the goal he scored against the Czech Republic in his previous game when he equalised with almost the last kick of the match.

It is now four consecutive games Capello has left him out of the starting XI.

England now face Croatia, and Cole told Setanta Sports: "You have to judge us on Wednesday's game. They are fifth in the world and we still have a lot to prove. We have to move on now and try and win the next game.

"This game and Wednesday's game wil be two different animals. You can't compare them. They are tough games to play on a sticky pitch like this but Croatia is what it's all about."

Capello told Setanta Sports: "We had a lot of chances. I'm happy because it's a very important three points.

"In the first half we played well for the first 15 or 20 minutes and had two chances to score goals."