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England B lost 2-1 to Belarus, but let's not worry about the result. I won't dismiss it as being "only the B team" but it was England's World Cup squad (except for Defoe and Dawson). Worth remembering that Belarus were literally gifted a goal when Robert Green ruptured his groin, and Belarus scored their winner when all the subs were on.

What really matters is how the Germany-bound players performed, and who looked match fit:

David James 7: -didn't have much to do but looked good enough.

Owen Hargreaves 6: -surprisingly decent at right back, didn't necessarily look out of position. gave the ball away a fair bit, but then so did the rest of the team.

Ashley Cole 6: -steady if unspectacular. looked like he was getting back to match fitness.

Sol Campbell 7: -didn't stand out, didn't do anything wrong, didn't get injured, didn't have a mental meltdown.

Jamie Carragher 7: -probably looked England's best defender .

Aaron Lennon 8: -easily the best player on the park. showed bags of pace and consistently went by Belarusian defenders, creating an early goal for Peter Crouch to tap in, which was disallowed. final ball wasn't always perfect, but great back heel to nearly split the Belarusian defence. earned the sign of international respect when Belarusian defenders started hacking him down.

Stewart Downing 7: -won't grab headlines like lennon but arguably had a more direct contribution. his cross created the goal, and one classy through ball nearly found crouch, who kicked the Belarusian keeper in the face instead.

Jermaine Jenas 6: -scored but didn't have the presence to control central midfield. one incident where he tackled and ran the length of the pitch sounds good, but he failed to look up and see two available players to his left, running into a glut of Belarusian defenders.

Michael Carrick 5: -maybe the most disappointing player. I was keen for him to use this game to push into the first eleven, but his passing (usually his best asset) was abysmal. lost possession far too often and looked poor defensively. Never thought I'd say this but I'd like to see Hargreaves start as a holding midfielder in one of the friendlies.

Peter Crouch 7: -regularly dropped deep to collect the ball, and showed some very silky touches. looked to be england's best chance of a goal. if he starts against Paraguay, i won't be too worried

Michael Owen 6: -hmmm. looked unfit and surprisingly slow. was mostly a non-factor, but he's never the most involved player anyway. with typical owen-ness it was his header onto the bar that allowed Jenas to score. 60 minutes under his belt and Hungary and Jamaica still to come, let's hope he can get himself match fit.

Subs:

Robert Green N/A: -ruptured his groin after only 5 minutes of action and Belarus scored as he lay sprawled on the floor. will probably miss the world cup.

Scott Carson 6: -looked solid enough, and his kicks were massive. not much he could do about the second Belarus goal, which was placed right in the corner.

Joe Cole 6: -got his chance to play centre midfield, and while his seniority allowed him to look authoritative he didn't really produce anything.

Theo Walcott 6: -made an explosive start, beating one defender with pace and strength before becoming the meat in a Belarusian defender sandwich. lost possession once, and struggled to find space "in the hole", especially after Defoe became the target man. hit one fantastic shot from distance, demonstrating technique and confidence.

Jermain Defoe 5: -didn't have much time to impress but still doesn't link up well with other players.

Michael Dawson 5: -failed to get in front of Kornilenko for the second goal.