Liverpool man Carragher partnered Wes Brown at the back with the likes of Sol Campbell, John Terry, Ledley King and Rio Ferdinand all out injured.

And in a frustrating match for both sides it was defences who were on top, with Holland managing only a single shot on target.

Unfortunately for England, they could not find a way through either. And in a match that failed to really spark into life, not even the arrival of debutants Stewart Downing and Andrew Johnson in the second half could break the deadlock.

This was an important game for England off the pitch as well as on it, though.

Racist chanting had blighted our last friendly against Spain in Madrid, and this time both teams took the chance to make a stand against prejudice.

Holland wore a specially-designed black and white kit to make their point, while England wore ‘No to Racism’ logos on their shirts and the crowd held up placards to spell out the same message.

England were also looking for an improved performance on the field following a 1-0 defeat in Madrid, and tried out a new 4-3-3 formation with Shaun Wright-Phillips, making his first start, Michael Owen and Wayne Rooney up front.

The first half, however, was largely a cat-and-mouse affair, with Holland passing the ball well - as you would expect - and England looking to break through the pace of Wright-Phillips and the guile of Beckham and Gerrard.

In fact, whenever Wright-Phillips was on the ball something seemed to happen. He made mistakes early on, giving away possession in his own half after 10 minutes and handing Dirk Kuyt a chance which he struck against a post from 18 yards.

But he also made an impact going forward as he began to overcome his nerves and reproduce his form for Manchester City.

England almost took the lead after 11 minutes, when Rooney’s work down the right set up a good chance for Gerrard - who fired his shot over the bar.

Wright-Phillips then scuffed his shot when well-placed and missed a glorious chance after 19 minutes.

This time Beckham took a free-kick quickly on the right, setting Gary Neville free to run into the penalty area.

Neville, whose final ball has improved so much in recent times, cut back a perfect pass for Wright-Phillips eight yards out, but somehow he failed to connect properly and saw his shot cleared.

Although England were not playing the kind of high-energy football they are famous for, they continued to create chances in between long spells of Dutch possession.

Owen, for instance, hooked a volley over the bar following a fine, looping Beckham pass. And Wright-Phillips, again, drilled an effort wide after superb skill on the left wing had allowed him to leave Jan Kromkamp in his wake.

At half-time Sven-Goran Eriksson brought on Owen Hargreaves in place of Frank Lampard, who had received a trophy as TheFA.com’s England Player of the Year before kick-off.

But Holland had the first chance of the second period when Roy Makaay took the ball down inside the penalty box and fired narrowly wide.

England’s response was a surging run from Rooney and a free-kick from Beckham that had to be smartly saved, before Eriksson took off Rooney and Wright-Phillips to have a look at debutants Stewart Downing and Andrew Johnson after 61 minutes.

Johnson’s pace and Downing’s sweet left foot were certainly needed to liven up proceedings, and the arrival of Kieron Dyer and Jermaine Jenas, in place of Beckham and Gerrard with 10 minutes to go, was designed to do the same.

Owen headed straight at 'keeper van der Sar from a Gary Neville cross late on and Holland finally managed an effort on target when Paul Robinson saved from Kuyt in stoppage time.

It won’t be a match that will live long in the memory – but the message against racism and the arrival of Johnson and Downing on the international stage could still hold well for the future.

England: Robinson; G Neville, Carragher, Brown, A Cole; Gerrard (Jenas, 81), Beckham (Dyer, 81), Lampard (Hargreaves, 45); Wright-Phillips (Downing, 61), Owen, Rooney (A Johnson, 61).
Subs not used: G Johnson, James, P Neville, J Cole, Defoe, Green

Holland: Van der Sar; Kromkamp, Boulahrouz, Mathijsen, van Bronckhorst; Castelen (Yildirim, 63), Heitinga (van Bommel, 61), Landzaat, Van der Vaart; Makaay, Kuyt.
Subs not used: De Jong, Melchiot, Timmer.

Referee: Peter Frojdfeldt

Attendance: 40,705