England embarked upon the home straight of their road to Brazil with a comfortable 3-0 victory over Peru at Wembley this evening.
The hosts, who were playing their final game on home soil before the World Cup, took the lead shortly after the half-hour mark as Daniel Sturridge curled a delightful effort into the top corner.
Gary Cahill doubled his side's lead midway through the second half, while Phil Jagielka also got his name on the scoresheet just five minutes later.
Here, Sports Mole casts an analytical eye over how England looked with less than two weeks to go until the start of the World Cup.
Match statistics
England
Shots: 10
On target: 3
Possession: 53%
Corners: 8
Fouls: 7
Peru
Shots: 6
On target: 1
Possession: 47%
Corners: 1
Fouls: 11
Was the result fair?
As the statistics suggest, it wasn't a match blessed with plenty of goalmouth chances for either side. The main difference between the two sides was England's ability to make the most of their opportunities, while Peru were thwarted when they had a good opening.
There is little doubt that the hosts deserved the victory, but a three-goal winning margin flatters them a bit. They were fortunate not to concede and have Joe Hart to thank for that as a number of defensive players had lapses in concentration throughout the match.
All in all, three shots on target and three goals is a stat that will both worry and please Roy Hodgson. On the one hand, his side should be creating more than that against a team like Peru, but they were also clinical when they did get chances - something they will need to continue at the World Cup.
England's performance
It won't exactly have people believing that England can now go on and win the World Cup, but a 3-0 victory is a good start for their preparations. They were by no means at their best throughout the match and there is plenty of room for improvement, but it is at least something for Hodgson to build from.
While there are positives to take from the performance - not least a glimpse of how South American opposition might line up - there will also be a number of concerns for Hodgson to address. The displays of Glen Johnson and Wayne Rooney in particular will be a worry, while some of the defensive errors would have been punished by a better team.
The hosts never really looked like breaking Peru down through incisive passing and clever build-up play. Two of their goals came from set pieces, while the opener was a wonder goal from Sturridge. Roy Hodgson may well be left with more questions than answers after tonight's game.
Peru's performance
Probably exactly what Hodgson would have wanted. Peru provided fairly stubborn opposition, but there was rarely any doubt that England would be able to claim the win. They provided enough of a threat to expose frailties at the back for the hosts, and Hodgson will have wanted to find that out now rather than at the World Cup itself.
Peru did have a number of chances to get on the scoresheet themselves, but for the best ones they found Joe Hart in good form. They had more good positions than their solitary shot on target suggests, and Pablo Bengoechea perhaps paid the price for selecting an inexperienced side that wasn't able to make the most of them.
Sports Mole's man of the match
Daniel Sturridge: In truth, there were no outstanding candidates for this award tonight, but Daniel Sturridge gets it for his superb opening goal, providing a moment of class that didn't really belong in a pretty poor first half.
With Rooney looking short of form, and even some talk of him being dropped, Sturridge could well prove to be England's main threat at the World Cup. He showed with Liverpool last season that he is capable of regularly finding the back of the net, and his scoring record with England is also impressive.
Biggest gaffe
This one goes to Raul Fernandez, who gifted England their third goal with some suspect goalkeeping. He came out to claim a corner and had two hands on the ball, only to drop it at the feet of Jagielka, who duly turned it in. There were the inevitable claims for a foul after the ball crossed the line, but Fernandez ran into his own player. Even so, he should have held onto the ball.
Referee performance
Friendlies are usually fairly tepid affairs, and tonight was no different for Viktor Kassai. He handed out two yellow cards as things threatened to begin bubbling under the surface in the first half, but all in all it was an easy evening for him.
What next?
England: England travel out to Florida on Sunday before their next warm-up match against Ecuador on Wednesday. After that is Honduras on Saturday before their World Cup campaign begins against Italy on June 14.
Peru: Peru, meanwhile, face Switzerland on Tuesday.
Barney Corkhill
