If Saturday’s win over Germany was a bewitching demonstration of the fearless streak running through England’s front six, a sobering 2-1 defeat to Netherlands at Wembley exposed insecurity among the back four, mainly in the iridescently talented but imperfect John Stones.

On Tuesday night, both sides of Stones were on display. The Stones who can play from the back like a Barnsley Beckenbauer, and the Stones who has stalled at Everton, failing even to get into the sixth worst defence in the Premier League.

International friendlies Five Truths: England's problem with Stones, Italy's big need 30/03/2016 AT 05:28

Given how clear Roy Hodgson was before the match in instructing the 21-year-old that he needed to “cut out some of the mistakes” and avoid overplaying at his team’s expense - the trait which has convinced Roberto Martinez to bench a player linked repeatedly with Barcelona and Bayern Munich - the defender’s task for the Netherlands match was clear: get through the game without major incident. Sadly for Stones, one such incident occurred.

England's John Stones in action with Netherlands' Ibrahim Afellay Image credit: Reuters

The tail end of Storm Katie had seen Wembley submerged by rain and the surface was evidently greasy, but there was still a question as to whether Stones really needed to execute the kind of manoeuvre which saw him slip to the ground on 50 minutes - and led to catastrophe.

Stones had plenty of time to deal with a prodded backpass from Danny Drinkwater, but took a touch back towards his goalkeeper and invited pressure from Vincent Janssen. He then tried to turn away from the incoming striker but his feet fell from under him and seven seconds later Netherlands had a spot-kick when Danny Rose blocked Luciano Narsingh’s cross with his arm. The cameras cut to Hodgson on the bench, as close to apoplectic as Roy Hodgson can be.

Speaking later, the England boss was adamant he wouldn’t be making any rash decisions based on one snippet of action - even if it was exactly the kind of lapse which Stones had been warned to avoid. “I suppose you are referring to the fact he slipped up,” said Hodgson, when asked to comment on Stones’ performance. “I don’t think I will be thinking about selecting or not selecting on the fact he slipped over on that occasion. Otherwise he showed assurance but I think he tired towards the end because he hasn’t had many games at club level.”

Stones is now under such scrutiny having been dropped by Everton that every little mistake will be magnified and examined in forensic detail. But this was a big mistake. And it reinforced the suspicion that when Euro 2016 starts and a first XI must be settled on, Hodgson will view him as too much of a risk. The Berlin pairing of Gary Cahill and Chris Smalling look more assured than ever of their places thanks to events in rainy north-west London.

At only 21 years of age, there would be no shame in being first back-up at a major finals and it is important to record that Wembley was also given glimpses of the precocity which ensures Stones will be both in the Euro 2016 squad and a crucial player for his country for years to come, perhaps even a transformative one.

England are not renowned for their ball-playing centre-backs but in Stones they have one of deep promise. His tendency to indulge this side of his game can present problems but it is also a natural consequence of his rare aptitude for playing from the back.

One lovely pass helped push England forward before Jamie Vardy’s goal, and another on 63 minutes was classic Stones, advancing without fear to within 25 yards of the opposition box and finding Theo Walcott with an incisive pass to slice the defence open. No other English centre-back would have dared to do it, or even conceived of doing it.

Still, the sense that his exuberant streak can also hurt Stones was made flesh with two minutes remaining when he embarked on another driving run through the Dutch midfield, only to be caught on the knee by Janssen just as he started to lay the ball off to a team-mate. A step too far. Vaulting ambition, o'erleaping itself.

This was by no means a catastrophic performance from a player who will have a long and distinguished international career, but it was effective enough in confirming perceptions of Stones, negative and positive, that it may ensure he is denied a starting role at Euro 2016.

International friendlies Netherlands hit back to sink England at Wembley 29/03/2016 AT 20:56