Head Coach Sven-Goran Eriksson will be studying the match video for clues as to what went wrong after a surprising second-half collapse that saw his team slip to defeat.

Things had been looking comfortable for England until the hour mark in Copenhagen, when suddenly the Danes struck three times in the space of seven minutes.

It is fair to say the Three Lions won’t be happy with their defending on any occasion and will want to put things right in time for next month’s crucial World Cup qualifier against Wales.

The first blow came after 60 minutes when goalkeeper David James, on as a substitute, miss-judged a long ball over the England defence which had left him with a difficult decision to make.

Then, having missed his challenge, he could only watch as Ashley Cole tried in vain to prevent John Dahl Tomasson crossing low for Charlton’s Dennis Rommedahl to tap home.

It was 2-0 a few minutes later, this time Tomasson grabbing glory himself after Glen Johnson had been beaten on the wing by Claus Jensen.

The Fulham man crossed smartly into the box and although Ashley Cole cleared the ball off the line it was headed back for Tomasson to finish from less than a yard out.

The final blow, and the one that ended England’s hope of a swift revival, came after 67 minutes and saw substitute Michael Gravgaard beat both Steve Gerrard and Jamie Carragher in the air to head home from a corner.

Scandinavia has not been a happy hunting ground for England because we have lost friendlies to both Denmark and Sweden in recent times.

But the Three Lions have bounced back in the past and that is what they will hope to do this time.

There was certainly a positive note for Eriksson with the performance of Rooney, who worked tirelessly for the cause and was always a danger. And he eventually earned a reward when he raced onto a David Beckham pass down the right wing and finished smartly after 87 minutes.

It was his first goal for England since Croatia in Euro 2004 and will at least boost his confidence for the forthcoming World Cup clashes.

But there was further frustration tocome for England when Soren Larsen forced home another goal for Denmark with seconds to go.

England had looked far better in the first half, when Beckham sent a 25-yard effort narrowly wide and Jermain Defoe forced a fine save from Thomas Sorensen.

But they won’t want to remember what happened after that, even if their rhythm in the second half was affected by several substitutions.

Let’s just say this is one friendly game worth forgetting quickly. And Cardiff on 03 September would be a very good place to put it to rest.

Denmark: Sorensen, Agger, Nielsen (Gravgaard 46), Niclas Jensen, Priske, Poulsen (Daniel Jensen 87), Gravesen, Gronkjaer (Rommedahl 46), Claus Jensen (Perez 75), Tomasson (Larsen 64), Jorgensen (Kahlenberg 46).
Subs Not Used: Christiansen, Gaardsoe, Bogelund, Jepsen, Skoubo.

England: Robinson (James 46), Gary Neville (Johnson 46), Ashley Cole, Terry (Carragher 46), Ferdinand, Gerrard (Jenas 84), Lampard (Hargreaves 64), Beckham, Joe Cole, Rooney, Defoe (Owen 46).
Subs Not Used: Green, Phil Neville, Upson, Carrick, Bent.

Attendance: 41,438