Robert Green capped his first international start with a comfortable clean sheet as England cruised to a 4-0 victory in Kazakhstan to make it six wins out of six in 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifying.
The West Ham United No1 had made two previous substitute appearances but proudly took his place in Fabio Capello's lineup with David James absent through injury. In truth, he was hardly tested - aside from a close-range stop after just 19 seconds - as England stood firm in defence against the Kazakhs. Ahead of Green, club-mate Matthew Upson earned his 15th cap with a solid display while Carlton Cole missed out on a place on the substitute's bench.
Green had to be on his toes inside the opening minute when a Glen Johnson error allowed the home side a quick break down the right flank. The keeper spread himself well to block Sergei Ostapenko's shot before John Terry cleared the danger. Ostapenko then had the ball in the net after a quarter-of-an-hour but, with Green stranded after the defence failed to track the striker's run, the assistant referee correctly flagged for offside.
After that England dominated, although it was only in the closing stages of the first half that they took control. Steven Gerrard crossed for Gareth Barry to head in the opener before Gerrard's deflected shot found itself at Emile Heskey's feet and he converted. In the second half, Wayne Rooney hooked in acrobatically before Frank Lampard concluded the scoring with a late penalty after Heskey was fouled. Both Green and Upson, along with the rested Cole, will hope to figure again when England welcome Andorra to Wembley on Wednesday.