Anchor's howay as Carrick shines.

England may have lost Newcastle's finest and most expensive goal plunderer Michael Owen.

However, in the tactical upheaval orchestrated by Sven-Goran Eriksson as a direct result of Owen's shuddering injury, a Geordie stepped boldly into the field of battle amid much conjecture.

Michael Carrick's introduction against Ecuador was his sixth cap for his country but his first in the World Cup. Yet he was the puppeteer who ran England's show.

Carrick made the 4-5-1 system work because he can pass long or short, drives the ball in early to front runners, and makes things happen. Whereas Owen Hargreaves utilises his pace as the midfield anchor but plays in a restricted 15-yard area, the elegant Geordie retains the ball and uses it with greater vision to cut open the opposition with the sort of weighted pass Wayne Rooney thrives upon.

In Stuttgart, in the heat of battle for a quarter-final place in the World Cup, you could see why Spurs bought Carrick and why Manchester United want him. Sadly you could also shudder at what his home town club didn't realise was on their own doorstep.

Polished at the best soccer factory in the country ( Wallsend Boys Club ( Carrick was a Newcastle fanatic who idolised Peter Beardsley and Paul Gascoigne. The youth club is still the life of the Carrick family ( his dad Vince is a key figure in running it and younger brother Graeme, after a short spell at West Ham too, is ensconced at headquarters off Station Road as a valued helper.

Carrick was the ideal man to orchestrate things in the middle of the park while Rooney, having never played as a lone striker, grew into the job magnificently. For a player recovering from injury his energy levels were amazing, his heart and legs ever willing, and his brain as sharp as a tack. Rooney lasted the full 93 minutes including injury time which, in only his third match back, was something no one had a right to expect, especially in strength-sapping heat.

England's midfield inevitably looked much better balanced with Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard freed on either side of Carrick to play their natural game and get up in support of Rooney.

Hargreaves, switched to right-back, did a sterling job despite having studs raked down his right shin just before half-time and the pace and power of Ashley Cole was admirable. He, like Rooney, has grown into this tournament after serious injury.

Rio Ferdinand was calm and influential which was required early in the game when John Terry was uncharacteristically unsure. Terry almost gifted Ecuador an 11th-minute lead when he got under the ball and a poor back header saw Carlos Tenorio latch on to it. Luckily for England, Ashley Cole showed terrific speed to lunge and divert the shot on to the crossbar. Seven minutes later and Terry was rightly booked for foot up against Tenorio.

If England had players below par they weren't the ones on trial in the 4-5-1 system but rather the seasoned backbone of the team such as Terry, David Beckham and the previously magnificent Joe Cole.

Beckham struggled to maintain a foothold in the game until his winner on the hour ( a curling, swirling free-kick from wide on the left which was always going away from the keeper to brush the inside of the near post on its way into the net.

It was Becks' first England goal in 13 matches, his first free-kick goal in more than three years, and made him the first Englishman to score in three successive World Cup finals. With that, the out-of-sorts England skipper was physically sick on the pitch and eventually substituted by Aaron Lennon who cleverly helped run down the clock.

Joe Cole could not reproduce the sparkle shown against Sweden and gave way to Jamie Carragher.

Individual form will dip from time to time, of course. It's the overall team performance which is paramount. However, what England could do with is a goal for Lampard. He's peppering the opponents every match without scoring, but he's not hitting the ball as cleanly as he does for Chelsea. A goal would relieve a lot of personal tension.

Now it's on to confront Portugal and Big Phil Scolari again on Saturday. The quarter-finals is the stage where Sven's England normally wave goodbye to the watching world, and there is no question this will be the stiffest task yet on German soil despite the ban on Portuguese playmaker Deco. What must be hoped for is that England find another gear when they need it most.