Last month, Green was sitting in the stands at Windsor Park as World Cup minnows Northern Ireland inflicted a humbling 1-0 defeat on Sven-Goran Eriksson's men.

With England blasted from all sides, the critics were gleefully insisting that dreams of repeating the heroics of 1966 and lifting the World Cup in Germany next summer were no more than that - dreams.

Five weeks later, however, on the back of Saturday's thrilling 3-2 win over World number two Argentina, opinion has shifted again. Now England have every chance.

So how do you explain England's Jekyll and Hyde efforts? “Pressure,” said Green simply, spotted leaping out of his dug-out seat next to England coach Sammy Lee as Michael Owen guided his 87th-minute leveller home in Geneva.

“Personally, I think it is the pressure. This weekend's game was away in Switzerland, away from prying eyes - or if not exactly that, there was a lot less press attention than in the run-up to the Northern Ireland game.

“Back then we were getting hammered by the press before and after the game and there was a lot of expectation on us. On Saturday we were playing the second best team in the world and there was no pressure on us to win the game - other than the pressure that we put on ourselves to win it.”

Cool, calm and with a collective sense of belief that this England team is far better than many of its qualifying results suggest, Green's England colleagues simply went out and laid down a big marker for Germany 2006.

Wayne Rooney was singled out for much of the praise for his performance in Geneva. “You look back and you wouldn't say that anyone really had a bad game,” said Green. “And yet, relative to Wayne Rooney, you'd probably say that David Beckham had a quiet game. But Beckham still had an amazing game.”

The experience for Green was almost as great as winning his first international cap against Colombia this summer. But not quite. “In terms of a team performance and a result, I'd have to say that was probably the best international experience I've had, but - at an individual level - you can't beat making your debut.”