The final whistle goes at last (Allsport).

By Neal Collins

When that hard-to-please Scot Alan Hansen tells the nation: "That was one of the great performances. Better than Germany 1, England 5 because this was against one of the best sides in the world" you know England have done quite well.

Sven Goran Eriksson put it this way: "We played with a big, big heart."

In truth, Friday's 1-0 victory over Argentina was the greatest defensive performance of modern times by an England team, any team – if only because, for the last 30 minutes, they barely got out of their own half as the Argies threw everything at the unruffled David Seaman's goal.

I can't tell you what neutrals would have made of it. Perhaps it was the worst game of the tournament so far.

For those whose heart doesn't beat to God Save the Queen, it was probably a boring 90 minutes brightened only by Michael Owen's early shot against the post and David Beckham's 44th minute penalty (straight down the middle, the keeper only had to move his foot seven inches to save it, he didn't)... and of course there was the 17-pass movement which ended with Paul Scholes finding sub Teddy Sheringham, whose volley was brilliantly saved by Pablo Cavallero.

At the other end, Argentina had one point-blank Mauricio Pochettino header saved by Seaman, but for all that pressure, they had little else to shout about.

So highlights for the neutrals were thin on the ground.

For England fans, those gathered in the pubs, the churches, the workstations, the homes and those substantial thousands at Sapporo, this was one long highlight. And boy, was it long!

It was the moment we have all waited for since Maradona's Hand of God goal in the 1986 quarter-final and David Beckham's red card in 1998. The roar which greeted Beckham's penalty was bettered only by the tide of noise which swept the sceptered isle when the iron-whistled Pierluigi Collina blew the final whistle.

Has there ever been a longer final 10 minutes? Who the hell stopped the clocks?

But what a feeling it was. Football results mean so little in real terms.

Our lives will not be improved by England's win, our incomes will stay pitiful, our in-laws inhospitable, our overdrafts unbearable.

But somewhere inside, there's a glow.

For no logical reason, the world (and not just the World Cup) seems a better place.

Surely England can't lose to Nigeria, whose 2-1 defeat against Sweden means they're already eliminated?

For now, that final qualifying question doesn't need answering. It's time to celebrate.

David Beckham summed up the mood with the simplest of sentences: "It feels a lot better than four years ago."

It sure does. For once Beckham, scorer of the goal, was NOT England's hero, though he stayed on for the full 90 minutes. The real troopers were to be found down in the defensive trenches, battling against the Argie invaders.

Every England defender stood up to their toughest test, laughing in the face of the long-haired shovers from Buenos Aires.

Ashley Cole has gone from inexperienced Arsenal full-back to world-class £25m defender in one glorious leap.

Former West Ham defender Rio Ferdinand, England's most expensive defender at £18m, is now officially the new Bobby Moore.

Sol Campbell, whose move from Spurs to rivals Arsenal created such controversy, showed just why his arrival inspired the Gunners to a Double-winning season.

And what about skinhead Danny Mills? Before the tournament he was a uncontrollable madman, a wild Leeds right back who shouldn't be allowed near an international football pitch, even one that's indoors with a hovercraft-assisted pitch.

But Mills, standing in for injured Manchester United fullback Gary Neville, cut out all those long diagonals, he was there when it mattered in the middle and he never faltered, never looked like losing his composure.

The back five were, I dunno, imperious. Immovable. Impenetrable. Inscrutable. Indeway. Ingerland.

But of course this performance, a win which engulfed our flag-waving nation, was built around the Manchester United duo of Paul Scholes and Nicky Butt.

Much has been written about Butt this week. At one point you might have been forgiven for thinking he was actually more talented than Juan Sebastian Veron, the Argentine he kept out of the central role at Old Trafford for long spells.

He isn't. Nicky Butt is just an everyday journeyman. Don't expect him to bamboozle opponents or play the curving 50 yard through ball. His secret lies in his focus, his ability to stick to the job at hand. He never left Pablo Aimar's side, often becoming entangled in the Valencia star's substantial curly locks.

As Gary Lineker put it on the BBC, he worked his Butt off for 90 minutes.

Veron, on the other hand, lasted only one anonymous half.

Scholes, given the freedom to go forward which he was denied in the opening draw against Sweden, was magnificent, a probable Man of the Match, unless the ageless Seaman snatched it from him with his point-blank save from Pochettino's header.

Michael Owen (who definitely didn't dive for the penalty) and Emile Heskey, so anonymous against Sweden, looked far better, Trevor Sinclair, on early for the injured Owen Hargreaves (a move which, decisively, brought Scholes in from the left to the centre), took his chance and fellow sub Sheringham so nearly scored the goal of the tournament.

What a day. What a feeling.

Now for Nigeria at Osaka on Wednesday at 7.30... a win there and we're off to Oita on Sunday, June 16. A draw and England are looking at Niigata on Saturday, June 15 at 12.30.

The opposition? Any one from the Group A contenders, Senegal, Denmark, Uruguay or even struggling world champions France. Bring them on!

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