By Terry Butcher BBC Radio Five Live pundit

The England team showed they were true big game players against Turkey at the Stadium of Light on Wednesday.

They really rose to the occasion and produced their best performance since beating Germany 5-1 in Munich.

Darius Vassell celebrates his goal with Paul Scholes

I have given England plenty of stick for their recent displays, but I have nothing but praise for them after a performance like that.

The way they went about it was absolutely spot on - they dominated the match from the start.

Defensively they worked hard because Turkey showed themselves to be a good footballing side.

There was a togetherness about England, a team spirit and a good shape.

They do not often play that formation but it worked really well, except they did not get Paul Scholes into the game as much as I would like.

The atmosphere at the Stadium of Light was incredible - particularly in the second half when it was like going back to the glory days of Wembley.

It was a game full of passion but I felt David Beckham showed a little too much at times.

Match report: England 2-0 Turkey

He was fortunate not to have already been booked when he got his yellow card and he will now miss the next game.

The players were certainly fired up but you cannot go round kicking people.

Wayne Rooney, however, was like a breath of fresh air.

It took him about 35 minutes to get a feel for the pace of the game but for the rest of the match he was outstanding.

He pressurised the Turkish defenders and was always a threat going forward.

I felt playing him from the start was a massive gamble as Michael Owen and Emile Heskey are tried and tested.

But sometimes you have to go with your gut feeling and you have to credit Sven-Goran Eriksson.

He also made two crucial substitutions, with Darius Vassell taking his goal well and Kieron Dyer getting the penalty.

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It just goes to show that it is not just about the 11 that start the game.

But there is still a long way to go for England to make the finals.

I cannot see England or Turkey dropping points so it is all going to come down to the last game of the group over there.