Scholes revelled at being back in the middle, often supporting strikers Emile Heskey and Michael Owen as England were more threatening as they recovered to win 2-1 on a boggy pitch. The Man United man makes England tick when he’s on his game and captain David Beckham has no doubts about his importance to the side.

Becks said: ``I think Scholes is great in every position but when he's getting the ball in that hole and turning and running at players then he is a real handful.

``He is a player that can play any pass. The position on the left is not one he is used to but the manager changed it around at half-time and it worked out well.''

Experienced Defender Gareth Southgate added: ``It helped when Scholes was in the middle because we left the strikers up front on their own and he was able to link things up a lot better in the second half.''

Sven will now be pondering the jigsaw of his midfield selection for Wednesday's Macedonia match. It will not be complete until Scholes has found his niche.