England Can Build on Feelgood Factor and Make Kazakhs Suffer

England are not too good at being good. Having won 5-1 in Munich seven years ago, for instance, it took David Beckham's last-minute goal to hold Greece to a draw the following month when it looked as if Germany would still qualify automatically for the 2002 World Cup. Having raised the country's spirits, Fabio Capello must now consolidate where predecessors floundered.

He faces a stiff task to meet the target of steering the team to at least the last four in the 2010 World Cup or Euro 2012. No wonder Capello was impressed by the measured satisfaction his side showed in the dressing room after the 4-1 beating of Croatia in Zagreb last month.

It will be a challenge to instill wariness at Wembley today. Kazakhstan stand 131st in the Fifa rankings, have recently been beaten 3-1 at home by Ukraine and, after sacking Arno Pijpers, are now coached temporarily by Bernd Storck, who will pick an experimental line-up.

The German has shed 17 members of the squad he inherited and proposes to give four players their debut. Storck has issued warnings, too, that anyone swapping jerseys with the likes of Wayne Rooney or Beckham at the end will be banned from playing for Kazakhstan in future. There is an intention, too, to be adventurous. The approach seems to be an unconvincing blend of the idealistic and the draconian.

Capello, therefore, has good cause to view this match as an opportunity to fill Wembley with an unfamiliar sense of well-being. Maybe the fans will be so mellow that they shed previous hostility and cherish Frank Lampard unreservedly. Even a hard-bitten manager like Capello is entitled to dream.

It would be natural, in reality, for tedium to set in. Sides at club level often lose their bearings in a match they are fated to win. The situation is little different for England. Euphoria is an impossibility and Capello, in any case, knows that judgment will not be passed until late on Wednesday night.

This might be a week of consolidation. A victorious England could be outright leaders of Group 6 this evening if, as is quite conceivable, Ukraine are unable to defeat Croatia in Zharkov. Capello would then have the opportunity to consolidate in Minsk with a win over Belarus in midweek.

Capello will shortly be reminding everyone that Holland were beaten 2-1 there in the qualifiers for Euro 2008. England, however, may be in luck. It is uncertain whether the Belarus captain, Alexander Hleb, will be able to take part since the former Arsenal midfielder has been receiving treatment for an injured ankle at his current club, Barcelona.

This afternoon has to be devoted to making every member of the Kazakhstan squad feel pain, if only of the mental variety. England are well placed to put on a coherent and commanding display. John Terry alone is unavailable and his back problem has not yet ruled him out of the trip to Minsk. The identity of the center-halves should be irrelevant against Storck's line-up.

The circumstances resemble those in the Andorra match, when a stiff neck meant that a deputy had to be identified for Rio Ferdinand. Capello then opted for Joleon Lescott rather than Matthew Upson, presumably because the Everton defender is more likely to score a goal or help bring one about at set pieces.

By the same token Glen Johnson was preferred to Wes Brown at right-back on a night when overlapping was the main duty. Capello could make the same decisions once more but, it must be conceded, Johnson did not look much like a swashbuckler against Andorra.

There was no dilemma for Capello over reinstating Steven Gerrard, who missed last month's England matches after minor surgery. The chances are that he will be on the left of midfield but, with Ashley Cole making runs on the outside of him, he should have no cause to feel stuck on the margins.

Gerrard has been in that position before with England, without looking at ease. The obstacles may be in his mind but that does not make them any simpler to negotiate. Somehow he must be persuaded that an inside-left slot that lets him cut in to pass or shoot with his right will work to his advantage. The less versatile Lampard could then get on with his work in the centre of midfield. There could be a claim that Gareth Barry is superfluous for a match of this nature but the Aston Villa player might be essential to maintain order while those around him move freely.

Kazakhstan, most likely, will see Theo Walcott, Lampard, Gerrard and Wayne Rooney all swarming in support of Emile Heskey. This should appeal to the crowd but it is more important that Kazakhstan hearts sink at the sight of it.