Maybe it was always supposed to be like this, to be done this way. England had failed with their best team ever in 1970, when they were inspired by the genius of Paul Gascoigne in 1990 and when they were emboldened by Terry Venables's tactical insight six years later.

Whatever they tried, however well they played, the manacles remained, the dread grip of Teutonic efficiency impossible to shift. In Charleroi, they went for the opposite approach.

Forget clever, intricate football, passing the ball around and looking to outplay the old enemy. Opt for aggression, desire, one top-class dead-ball expert, a striker determined to prove his critics wrong - and most importantly of all, the luck that had deserted them through three decades of anguish.

The result was enough to change the mood of a team, a squad and a nation - and guarantee that Kevin Keegan will be England coach until at least 2002. It did not matter that this was not a great German side, not even an average one. What mattered, so much more than any other game, was the result.

If you needed proof of that, just look at the faces of Keegan's players when the last second of that three minutes of added time was finally signalled by Pierluigi Collina.

The smiles and hugs were the embodiment of pure delirium. Just like the fans, most of the team - David Seaman, not yet three in 1966, and a six-day-old Martin Keown the exceptions - had waited their whole lives for this moment, to witness the heartache of German faces while they celebrated in triumph.

Disgruntled Germany coach Erich Ribbeck - all too aware of the scaffold being erected for him even as he spoke - had a case for claiming his side were hard done-by.

Certainly, in the 15 minutes after Alan Shearer headed David Beckham's incisive free-kick past Oliver Kahn, it might have gone the other way on another day.

But that would have denied the towering Keown the credit he was due for a resolute performance, Sol Campbell his day of praise after all the criticism, Phil Neville the opportunity to prove that he could master Germany's new golden boy Sebastian Deisler, Paul Ince a tribute for his indefatigable work-rate and Shearer the chance to say 'I told you so'.

Of course, the pleasure of the victory has to be tempered by what went on outside the Stade du Pays before, during and after the match, and then continued long into the Brussels night. Once again, the image of England has been disfigured.

But back at home, and in Keegan' s dressing-room, the psychological impact of crossing what has become English football's Rubicon will have huge reverberations.

In victory, it is sometimes easier to accept the lessons than in defeat and Keegan - who allowed his reactions to get the better of him again in his post-game claim that Shearer's retirement has been forced by criticism - will be swift to point them out.

When Sir Alf Ramsey sent his 1970 team out to play Brazil, his last words were to tell his players to regard the ball as a piece of gold. For half-an-hour in Charleroi, it looked as if Keegan had said it was a piece of soap.

Too often the ball was humped aimlessly forward, giving a frustrated Shearer no chance, although the lack of movement all over the field left precious few options to consider.

England were looking horribly predictable, apparently playing the Germans into form. Carsten Jancker's sheer bulk caused a few early problems for Campbell, and Jens Jeremies and Dietmar Hamann were able to close down quickly and set the agenda.

But for once Germany did not take advantage of their superiority - over the match they had 61 per cent of possession and outshot England by 15 goal attempts to five - with Mehmet Scholl and Christian Ziege scuffing their best openings.

England had offered little before Michael Owen arched his back to meet Phil Neville's excellent centre and bring a superb tip on to a post by Kahn.

Shearer said: 'That was the turning point. It was a great save from a fantastic header and it seemed to lift everybody. It meant they were pleased to hear the half-time whistle.'

Owen's effort was followed by two from Paul Scholes, the second bringing another alert save from Kahn after Beckham's ability to hit a pin-head from 50 yards had been demonstrated once again. Eight minutes after the restart came the moment that will be etched into the memory of every Englishman.

Despite the fact that Gary Neville seemed determined to take the free-kick 45 yards out on the right, it was an instant designed for just one man. Beckham, booked earlier for a moment of petulance that ensures the sword of Damacles will hang over him against Romania, delivered.

Owen - not given the chance to test out Lothar Matthaus's legs - did enough to distract Jens Nowotny and Shearer peeled off six yards out to steer home the goal that took him above Jurgen Klinsmann and Marco Van Basten to lie second only to Michel Platini in the all-time European Championship Finals scoring list with six.

As Shearer turned away in triumph, the familiar one-handed salute ending an eight-match lean spell, it was as if he was reborn in a split-second. It was the lift he needed as well, his vibrancy returning by the second.

After that, despite the impressive efforts of Steven Gerrard when he replaced Owen to stiffen midfield, the tension increased.

Jancker turned Campbell but fired over, Scholl dragged wide after Matthaus clipped him in behind the back-line and Seaman blocked from Ulf Kirsten then watched in relief as Jancker slashed the rebound wide.

The Germans never panicked, their faith evident that the tide of history would carry them to safety. But this time Ince, Keown and Campbell refused to accept it.

It was not a momentous match but it was a momentous result.

And even if Shearer's belief that England can go on to win the tournament seemed slightly over-ambitious, given that a draw against Romania in Charleroi is not a foregone conclusion, Keegan's players walked on to their coach a foot taller.

The diminutive coach and his squad return tonight to the Waterloo hotel where they prepared to beat the Germans. It is just a few hundred yards from the scene of the battle which took place 185 years ago yesterday.

Napoleon, another small man, once explained his strategy in simple terms: 'I don't want good generals. I want lucky generals.'

England's little general may well have that luck.