England made it nine wins out of nine in their Euro 2016 qualifying campaign with a comfortable win over Estonia at Wembley.
Roy Hodgson’s side have already qualified for France next summer and even without injured captain Wayne Rooney were able to dismiss Estonia with barely an anxious moment.
Rooney received a Golden Boot from Sir Bobby Charlton before kick-off after breaking his England goalscoring record with his 50th goal from the penalty spot in the last qualifier against Switzerland at Wembley.
There was barely a moment of note in the first 45 minutes until man-of-the-match Ross Barkley picked out Theo Walcott with a superb pass to score with the last kick of the half.
And England’s latest victory was sealed in the dying moments when substitute Jamie Vardy unselfishly set up a second from close range for Raheem Sterling.
Hodgson clearly admires Everton’s 21-year-old Barkley – but would he trust him enough to start with him in a vital Euros or World Cup game?
The dilemma is that while there are those who question Barkley’s decision-making and occasional positional naivety, this is a player who can change games, a natural talent that can offer up moments that will unlock the best defences.
All sides of his game were on show at Wembley, but most of all the skills and bold approach that suggests England and Hodgson possess a rare gem.
Yes, there were moments when he tried the extra touch, held on to the ball too long and over-complicated matters but they were far outweighed by the moments that excited the Wembley crowd of 75,427.
Barkley had the vision and technique to pick out Walcott for his goal and demonstrated fast footwork and balance to fire one shot just wide, then bring a superb save from Estonia keeper Mihkel Aksalu.
It is more profitable for England and Hodgson to concentrate on what he can do rather than what he cannot.
The issue is whether Hodgson can harness his unpredictability into his England framework. If he can do that before the Euros next summer, and Barkley can iron out those rough edges, then he will have a potent weapon.
