Fabio Capello did not only supervise the most unlikely of victories over the world champions at Wembley, he did so without regulars such as Wayne Rooney and John Terry, and by giving match time to inexperienced newcomers in Jack Rodwell, Danny Welbeck and Phil Jones.

Jones started the game in midfield, Rodwell and Welbeck came on in the second half and impressed so much that their manager claimed their emergence at international level was more important than the scoreline.

"Rodwell, Jones and Welbeck are really, really good players," Capello said. "I always had confidence in them, but today they showed what they can do. They played without fear and I think all three will be important players for England in the European Championship in summer."

First there is another Wembley friendly against Sweden on Tuesday, for which Capello, who was sporting a floral buttonhole in honour of the family wedding he missed in Italy, has already promised to ring the changes. "Terry will play against Sweden," he said. "So will Gary Cahill, Kyle Walker, Daniel Sturridge and Bobby Zamora."

Terry was always likely to be restored to the starting lineup and the captaincy at the earliest opportunity, although Capello was at pains to emphasise that his rotation of resources was no reflection on the performances of Phil Jagielka and Joleon Lescott against Spain. "My two centre-halves were fantastic," the Italian said, after both had featured prominently in a deep rearguard action that lasted for most of the final half hour. "They played with a lot of confidence and prevented Spain passing their way through the middle. Scott Parker also showed what an important player he is. He improves in every game."

Spain, before the celebrations get out of hand, do not have the most impressive record in friendlies. Since winning the World Cup last year, they have performed faultlessly in Euro 2012 qualifying, but have lost friendly fixtures against Italy, Portugal, Argentina and now England. Vicente del Bosque, the Spain coach, denied his players were not taking friendlies seriously enough or that they were suffering from complacency. "I was angry we did not win this game," he said. "We kept hold of the ball well and dominated the game. England defended deep, with men behind the ball. We lacked pace when we needed it, but I have to congratulate Fabio Capello on his tactics and his players for carrying out the plan well."