Hansen's England verdict

BBC Sport's Alan Hansen gives his view on England's 3-1 victory over Albania in the World Cup qualifier in Tirana.

Another victory and Andy Cole off the mark, so it was not a bad outcome for England.

Albania looked to be a better side than in previous tournaments, and they made life difficult for England.

But for Sven Goran Eriksson's men it was the points rather than the performance that were important.

It took an incisive finish from Michael Owen to break the deadlock for England and once they scored a second you looked to the defence to be solid and not give anything away.

I thought that David Beckham was influential

  Alan Hansen

But they conceded a sloppy goal and suddenly it looked set to be like the closing stages of the Finland game again.

Fortunately Andy Cole sealed the win and it was a great sight to see him score his first international goal.

He has not been playing badly but strikers are judged on their record, not the quality of their build-up play.

It will not silence his critics but it gets him off the mark and will give him plenty of confidence.

Michael Owen's form is another boost for England.

He has been criticised in the past about his left foot and his touch, but he got the ball out of his feet quickly and finished well for his goal.

It was fitting that Paul Scholes got the second after setting up the first, and his record of 11 goals in 33 internationals is extraordinary for a midfielder.

Scholes created one and scored one

I thought that David Beckham was influential as well.

When you're looking for an up-tempo performance you want your captain to lead by example and the way Beckham sprinted to take corners impressed me.

It was also great to see Beckham and the rest of the England players chase after Andy Cole when he scored. That showed the spirit there is in the side.

As for the debutant Ashley Cole, well he looks a terrific prospect.

England have had this problem on the left for some time but the young Arsenal man looks capable of playing at wing-back or in a back four.

He took a couple of chances early on but that only shows the massive confidence that he has.

He's not the finished article but with him and Jamie Carragher, England suddenly don't look to have the same problems.