England player ratings

Sharp-shooter: Owen again found his scoring form

BBC Sport Online's Howard Nurse rates England's players during the 2-0 victory against Albania.

David Seaman

Nothing to save until the 78th minute when Edvin Murati's effort caused problems for the England goalkeeper. Steady show.

Gary Neville

Picked up where he left off against Germany, looking lively down the right. Always keen to push forward and did not put a foot wrong at the back.

Ashley Cole

Lucky not to concede a penalty after appearing to foul Altin Rraklli but settled down for another sound performance.

Rio Ferdinand

Headed a Beckham corner over the crossbar and looked impressive when called upon defensively. Better than in Germany.

Sol Campbell

Sound, but occasionally a touch hesitant. Cleared his lines well at the death as Albania pushed forward for a consolation goal.

David Beckham

Always at the centre of most England build-ups and went close to making it 2-0 in the closing stages with a superb 25-yard shot. Another fine display from England's captain.

Steven Gerrard

Booked in first-half injury time and unable to stamp his authority on what turned out to be a very scrappy encounter.

Paul Scholes

Set-up England's opener with a superb ball through to goal hero Michael Owen. Worked hard driving England forward alongside Beckham.

Nick Barmby

Headed a Beckham cross wide early on and never made a huge impact. Made some useful contributions without setting the game alight.

Emile Heskey

Disappointing show from the Liverpool striker who did not really get involved before limping off 10 minutes after the interval.

Michael Owen

Broke the deadlock just before half time after latching on to a great Scholes pass and almost headed a second late on.

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Substitutes:

Robbie Fowler (55 mins)

Replaced Heskey and missed a glorious chance from close range. Settled England's nerves with a fantastic goal at the end.

Steve McManaman (64 mins)

Came on for Barmby, as he did in Germany, and wasted a great chance to score. His touch was very poor - what a shocker.

Jamie Carragher (83 mins)
Replaced Gerrard for the closing minutes.