ENGLAND skipper John Terry gave his country the perfect end to 2008 by nodding home a late winner to beat Germany in Berlin.

Terry sent 7,000 visiting fans wild when he got his head to Stewart Downing's curling free-kick six minutes from time.

That more than made up for Terry's comical cock-up with keeper Scott Carson which had allowed Germany an equaliser they never deserved.

HEADS YOU WIN - John Terry's determination is clear as he heads the winner for England

Derided as a meaningless fixture, the friendly will instead go down as an important staging post in Fabio Capello's reign, after Matthew Upson had put England on the way to a superb victory with a close-range finish midway through the first half.

Skipper Terry believes Fabio Capello's missing stars - the likes of Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard and Wayne Rooney - could now regret staying at home with injuries.

He said: "It was a good performance from the lads. Obviously it's a young squad but they've given the manager a problem there with a lot of good performances.

BERLIN BALL - John Terry (rght) celebrates his winning goal with Michael Carrick

"They've proved a lot. The pitch was really difficult so we didn't want to play too much, too deep, but they had confidence on the ball and were always a threat. It's very exciting."

Germany's leveller came when Terry and substitute goalkeeper Scott Carson dithered and allowed Helmes to sneak in.

"I'm disappointed with the goal. I should have cleared, it's not Scotty's fault at all," Terry said

NUMBER ONE - Matthew Upson (right) celebrates his goal with skipper John Terry

Capello has always said his England job is an evolving process. And this England was markedly different to the one he turned out against Switzerland last February, both in performance and personnel.

Only three of the players that started against a German side lacking Michael Ballack, Philipp Lahm and Torsten Frings featured against the Swiss, when England were hesitant, fearful and fortunate to win.

However, such was the cohesion in Berlin it looked like they had spent the last nine months training together every day.

Germany's only first-half threat came through the excellent set piece delivery of Bastian Schweinsteiger, with Heiko Westermann sending a powerful header just over.

It never could be another 1966, 1990, 1996 or 2001 but the noise of German fans whistling their own team off the field at the interval in its own way provided a memory to cherish.

The major disappointment was England only had one goal to shout about by the break.

Purpose

Aside from a good effort from debutant Gabriel Agbonlahor, Shaun Wright-Phillips came close on a couple of occasions and Downing forced an excellent save out of Rene Adler.

After the Jens Lehmann era, it seemed somehow fitting Germany should concede to a kamikaze goalkeeping blunder.

Adler came to punch Downing's corner with purpose after an Upson effort had been deflected wide. He missed it completely.

OH NO - John Terry and Scott Carson (right) look in horror after their cock-up gifts Patrick Helmes an equaliser

Agbonlahor probably should have bundled home. Instead, the ball bounced down off the striker and Upson launched himself at it, prodding his first England goal into an empty net.

In four successive appearances, Upson looks accomplished and more than just a mere stand-in. The same is true of Downing. And after nutmegging Schweinsteiger he drilled a low shot narrowly wide.

Then Wright-Phillips nearly scored in memorable fashion after a mazy run before substitute Darren Bent beat the German offside trap, skipped round replacement keeper Tim Wiese and looked to tap into an empty net.

Hesitation

Had he done so, the game would have been over. Instead, with glory beckoning he half tripped over his own feet, half lost his balance. The result was a glaring miss. The consequences were huge as England's age old capacity to shoot themselves in the foot reared its ugly head again.

As he could see the whole picture, in particular Patrick Helmes bearing down at some speed, Scott Carson, on his first England appearance since his nightmare against Croatia 12 months ago, should have taken charge of the situation.

Sensing hesitation, Terry should simply have whacked it onto the running track behind the visitors' goal.

Between them they did neither, allowing Helmes to stick out a leg as Terry tried to shepherd the ball to Carson, nudge it through the helpless keeper's legs and gleefully skip past. Even Helmes' granny would not have missed what remained.

That England recovered their composure so quickly is another glowing testament to Capello's managerial abilities.

When Wright-Phillips saw his thunderbolt shot crash to safety off a post 11 minutes from time, it seemed the win England deserved would elude them. Terry had other ideas.

HOW THEY RATED

DAVID JAMES: Some unconvincing early ball juggling caused concern but otherwise coped soundly with the minimal German threat in the first half before being substituted. 6

GLEN JOHNSON: Did nothing wrong but after a bright start offered little going forward. 6

MATTHEW UPSON: Was in the right place at the right time for his goal but still fails to convince fully at this level. 6

JOHN TERRY: His indecision led to Germany's goal and marred what was otherwise a dominant and typically muscular performance. Redeemed by a captain's winner. 6

WAYNE BRIDGE: One of his best international showings. Solid enough in defence and linked intelligently with Downing going forward. 7

SHAUN WRIGHT-PHILLIPS: Something of a headless chicken in the first half but improved after the break, offering a good outlet on the right. Hit the post with a fierce shot. 6

GARETH BARRY: Snapped away in the centre of the pitch and set the tempo for England's dominant midfield. 7

MICHAEL CARRICK: Still prone to giving the ball away but put his foot in and played fine through balls to Defoe and Agbonlahor. 7

STEWART DOWNING: Man of the match. A constant option on the left who linked up well with Bridge, providing a threat with long-range shots and set-piece delivery. 8

JERMAIN DEFOE: One early break was ruled offside and otherwise was outshone by his young strike partner. 6

GABRIEL AGBONLAHOR: Had a goal ruled out harshly for offside and his intelligent running and link play gave England a constant menace in attack. 7

SUBSTITUTES

SCOTT CARSON (on for James, 45): Mix-up with Terry gifted Germany an equaliser. 4

DARREN BENT (on for Defoe, 45): Put himself about well but scuffed wide after rounding the goalkeeper. 6

ASHLEY YOUNG (on for Agbonlahor 77): Produced nothing in his short time on the pitch. 5

PETER CROUCH (on for Wright-Phillips, 90): On only to waste time. 5

This article has 5 comments