Jermain Defoe fired England to a creditable draw with Holland in Amsterdam this evening.
The forward replaced the ineffective Emile Heskey at half-time and had an immediate impact, latching on to lofted through ball from Frank Lampard before slotting a left-foot shot past Martin Stekelenburg in the Dutch goal.
Defoe continued to look lively, especially alongside fellow substitutes Carlton Cole and James Milner, and it was a neat combination between the two that bought England a deserved equaliser.
Milner capitalised on hesitant Dutch defending before racing clear to slot an accurate cross into the path of a sliding Defoe, who slotted home.
It rounded off the Tottenham forward's brightest performance in and England shirt and saw him bring his tally of England goals under Fabio Capello to six.
It was the perfect performance for the striker ahead of Tottenham's league opener against Liverpool at White Hart Lane this Sunday, with an in-form Defoe likely to partner former Pompey colleague Peter Crouch in attack.
A bad night for Robbie Keane got worse when his Ireland side lost 3-0 to Australia at Thomond Park, with two goals from Everton's Tim Cahill and a late David Carney strike handing the Aussies victory.