World Cup Qualifying Group Six : Wales tried manfully, but it was England who presented the severest challenge to themselves. Players grappled with a new formation which occasionally looked as if it had the beating of them.

The substitutes were as flustered as pupils who have received the exam questions an hour later than everyone else. Talent rather than strategy saw the side leave Cardiff with another set of pass marks.

Though England's tussle with Poland continues it is probable they will both advance automatically to the World Cup finals, since the eventual runners-up should have one of the two best records in the European groups. With the venture to Germany in mind already, Sven-Goran Eriksson decided to experiment in Cardiff.

There would have been an explosion in the laboratory if Paul Robinson, with the match goalless, had not saved a John Hartson header brilliantly in the 24th minute. Eriksson did not pretend that he could have trusted a system featuring a single outright forward to get England back on level terms.

"Probably I would have put on one more striker, or two more," the manager admitted.

England used a 4-3-3 structure that turned into 4-5-1 whenever Shaun Wright-Phillips and Joe Cole retreated on the flanks. Eriksson thus ensured his side were not outnumbered by a Wales team that packed the midfield, but it is hard to credit he really had to tailor his plans to cope with opponents who have two points from seven matches.

The Swede was following the fad. Thanks to Jose Mourinho, 4-3-3 is all the rage, but Chelsea are the sole Premiership exponents who excel. Manchester United have tinkered with it for over two years and are only now beginning to detect progress.

It can be difficult to support a lone striker in the 4-3-3 scheme. "Our wingers went inside too early when we had the ball," Eriksson said of the first half. "Not even Steven Gerrard or Frank Lampard could find space when we went forward."

Rooney occasionally dropped back to look for the ball, leaving a vacancy in the attack which was never filled. The 4-3-3 method works perfectly only with gifted players who understand one another intuitively.

This approach reached its apotheosis in the 'Total Football' of Ajax over 30 years ago. But these were footballers who had trained together daily and, in some cases, grown up together in the neighbourhood around the De Meer ground.

"I should be very happy to go into the World Cup with two systems, and this is one of them," said Eriksson on Saturday.

The trouble is that he may land himself with a pair of defective formations. In shelving his usual 4-4-2 he may have wasted time on an imaginary problem. He was aiming to differentiate between the roles taken up by Lampard, Gerrard and David Beckham.

"They have played 4-4-2 together in many games and done it extremely well," Eriksson noted. "But as soon as we get into trouble, normally all three of them are doing the same kind of job. I took them in (last Tuesday) and said: 'We have to sort it out once and for ever."

The supposed solution was on show in Cardiff and it had flaws of its own. The manager may revert to 4-4-2 in Belfast. Michael Owen, suspended on Saturday, could still be reunited with Rooney up front. Joe Cole should be available after recovering from a calf knock.

The 4-4-2 approach will only really be undermined if Beckham has developed a permanent aversion to the position wide on the right. He did apply some beautiful touches from his berth in front of the centre-backs but the structure made it harder for others to reach a similar standard.

All the same, he was influential. Once Eriksson had told Wright-Phillips to stay in space on the right, Beckham was able to find him with superb long passes. Wright-Phillips collected one and rolled the cut-back that Joe Cole converted, with the aid of a deflection off Danny Gabbidon, for the winner in the 54th minute.

England had several chances. Rooney drew good saves from Danny Coyne, and Joe Cole miscued a header after Beckham found him with a lovely cross. But the team failed to impress.

"They still have got to prove that they can be one of the top six," said Wales's manager John Toshack. "Against the top four or five sides they may just have to have a rethink."

Owen Hargreaves was introduced to assist Beckham late on, but if the captain is to stay as a holding midfielder he will have to demonstrate that he can handle defensive duties against sides of greater guile than Wales.