Osman's long-awaited England bow

Ossie didn't seem to get the ball in the first half but played well second half, and got in some good forward positions. Baines also played well and seemed to have found his delivery again.

Osman, Baines & Jagielka all good enough to play regularly for England. Along with the rest of our first team, a real quality in the squad to push on this season.

Maybe we can find a replacement for Nev sooner rather than later - a good team captain but a definate weak link when you look at the rest of the first 11.

He looked good tonight. Nice and controlled. He'd be great in a slower league.

He'll come back full of confidence after that performance.

Good on him.

So, with your "just football fan" lens fixed, how did Ossie do tonight?

As for Osman, he played better today than he does for us. Hoping he now has a storming game against Reading. COYB!

Ignorance of the football world? Patronising sod.

His mother is a Croat anyway, so get your facts straight.

One thing I thought was funny was the commentator was suggesting that Baines was at fault for their first goal......how's that then, why do the centre halves get away from any blame? Cahill was left behind, Stevie GNH doing his Peter Reid impression and the new lad lost Ibrahimovicicicic.....Nooooooo, it's the left back's fault for not abandoning his wing and running into the middle

So Glen I hear you but still consider him the most overated player on the planet. Any time I have watched Zlatan I have been underwhelmed at how profligate he is in front of goal. Would take Jelavic any day.

He's arrogant for sure, a rich clubs Niklas Bendtner. More a scorer of great goals than a great goalscorer. Any more cliches? I'm on a roll this morning. Must be the different coffee.

Glen, I think that's exactly the way he's been playing for us and that's why he got into the England side.

@David, football fanaticism is all about opinions. I have seen Ibra underperform sometimes too but on the whole I have been impressed with him more often than not. His technique is phenomenal and he scores all kinds of goals. Does it for me.

Composed, comfortable in possession, able to play both an advanced and deeper role, it was exactly the kind of adaptable performance which has been lacking from the likes of Milner and Barry (and dare I say a certain over-capped RS midfielder) for years.

Having said that, the frenzy of praise he's been attracting on Twitter and elsewhere - along the lines of "far too late," "should've been capped earlier" and (ahem) "#english Iniesta" shows little knowledge of Ossie's career.

David Ellis (655) is spot on when he points out that Osman has been played out of position a lot of his career.

Along with others on here (aside from those constantly calling for him to be dropped), I've been calling for him to be played in the centre as long as I can remember.

The departure of Cahill and return of Pienaar, plus the arrival of Mirallas and Jelavic, has allowed Fellaini to play in the hole and freed up the creative midfield role for Ossie.

Although I feel he has been under-rated (particularly on TW) for years, it's Ossie's recent form in his proper position which has seen him called up. Here's hoping it's not a one-off.

Well done Ossie, we're proud of you (apart from those who still think you're lightweight/can't tackle/can't shoot etc, of course).

The one thing that he adds differently to the Carricks of the Engerlund side is that he is able to tackle and he will put his foot in and defend.

Predictably, didn't see the ball too much first half as both the Liverpool and the United players were playing in their club team mates too often at Ossie's expense. Saw him move into great spaces a number of times to receive the ball, only to see the pass go elsewhere! No vision and poor choices, forever the England way.

Never forget when I heard a guy in the Bullens Road say Ossie was 'the worst player I have ever seen in an Everton shirt' - thankfully Evertonians are knowledgeable, genuine supporters but there is always an exception!

You would imagine after he's hung up his boots and retired that he'd love to watch his games for England with his kids or grandkids.

Surely he'll get another go when he doesn't have to wear that ridiculous tache.

The Times gave Ossie 7/10 in my copy, with the commentary "International recognition long overdue...."

Mind you, I nearly didn't buy the paper after yesterday's love fest over Gerrard. They made amends to a certain extent today by describing his facial expression as "..always talks on a wince, as if facing into a cold shower of rain in an inadequately thick jacket". Not as succint as "creasehead" I grant you but it does paint a picture.

Gerrard has had a long but fairly ordinary carreer with England, a reflection perhaps of our limited resources over recent years. He's great in the premier league where pace, drive and stamina are rewarded disporoportionately. Take this to the international stage where ball retention accuracy of passing and clever movement are a priority and Gerards style is less effective. Also his 40 yard hollywood passes have about a one in four success rate. No finesse, other than from the dead ball. Ossie could have had a great England career with the right manager - he finds space, can pass, doesnt give the ball way and would respond to like minded top players like Rooney, Wiltshire and of course Baines.

How the fuck anyone expected to play decent football at international level with Milner dragging his knuckles up and down the wing?

Hardly involved at all first half, better second half.

I notices Vellios rocking a little caterpillar as well

I have to disagree as I think most here would - a good first half and even better second half. And you might make the comparison the rest of the England side - why ignore who he was playing against - surely that's the measure!

Baines was sporting a little caterpillar above the lip too.

Good for them!! a great gesture for an obviously important cause.

Every time I see Bainesy, he looks more and more like the fifth Beatle.

He hardly had a touch first half and his only meaningful impact was the weak shot he dragged wide.

As for 'who he was playing against'... Not sure what this means, I'm almost sure it was Sweden.

That's the key thing, not to be a one cap wonder. Did he look out of place? No. Are Sweden world beaters? No. Do England usually beat Sweden? No. Can he retain possession, which is meant to be so important at international level, in contrast to the kick and rush Premiership - May be. Certainly, more effective than Henderson and Co.

If I need to explain my point about "who he was playing against" - well, simply, judge how good somebody is by who they are playing against - Sweden are a good side so any good performance I'd call good, whereas if it had been against San Marino, not much of a test. Judge him against the difficulty of the opposition rather than against the team mates surrounding him (though come to think of it, you call England a crap side, so Ossie couldn't have been carried by better team mates - so I guess that makes his performance look even better).

"He hardly had a touch in the first half"?! Jeez, some people can't see what's before their eyes!

Baines looked as classy as ever - it's a pity Young often interrupted the flow on the left. He should replace Cole permanently these days!

I certainly think he had a good game, and to be honest I wish he was Irish.

First half though? Quiet.

I thought there was a huge step up in his involvement in the second half, and I couldn't really figure out for sure why it was. I think maybe Hodgson had just told them to look for him, or if England were just more threatening generally. I certainly agree that he didn't look out of place, and its always been one of the things said about Osman that he's probably more suited to European and international football than he is to the Premiership.

Your statistic would mean a lot more over the entire half, and in comparison to the other England midfielders.

Are there websites where someone's done that work for us?