Mclaren delighted with Owen’s Performance …

England emerged triumphant in their first competitive game at Wembley, winning their first home international in more than a year. And Owen capped it with the goal of the day.

The margin of three goals could easily have been doubled as McClaren's team generated chance after chance with surprising ease. While a more serious examination awaits in Wednesday's game with Russia, this result gave the England manager a little breathing space.

"I'm delighted. I'd have taken 1-0," McClaren said. "The performance was the icing on the cake. The way we went about the game made Israel look ordinary and they had proved a difficult side to beat."

With the 85,372 crowd in full throat, man-of-the-match Shaun Wright-Phillips scored first on 20 minutes with a neat far-post finish from Joe Cole's inswinging cross and Micah Richards claimed his first England goal with a thumped header after 66 minutes. Sandwiched between them was a moment of brilliance from Owen.

Receiving Gareth Barry's clever, disguised pass just outside the box, Owen chipped the ball up for himself, and lashed it into the net in one fluid, swivelling half-volley. It was his 38th goal for his country and he is only 11 short of Bobby Charlton's record. It bore the mark of a confident, world-class finisher.

"I thought we played really well, until we went 3-0 up. If we'd carried on playing like that we'd have beaten them by a bigger score. Everyone knows what I'm about: I've played many games for England and scored many goals. I'll play better and I'll play worse, but I'm now fully fit."

Owen has spent two years in and out of the treatment room and had an operation after rupturing his anterior cruciate ligament at the last World Cup. Goals in consecutive games for Newcastle had hinted at a return to his old sharpness. His team-mates clearly appreciated his return to form. "It was a great strike from Michael," said John Terry, the captain. "You could see how delighted everyone was for him by the way we all sprinted to congratulate him."