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| Own goals aid England |
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England needed two late own goals from Japan defenders Marcus Tanaka and Yuji Nakazawa to gain victory in their final World Cup warm-up match in Graz.
Tanaka had stunned England by giving Japan a seventh-minute lead and Fabio Capello's side looked uncertain at the back.
But Tanaka levelled matters when deflecting in a cross from Joe Cole and then Nakazawa suffered the same fate from a centre by Ashley Cole.
David James was handed his first England start for 13 months while three Chelsea players - Ashley Cole, Frank Lampard and John Terry - returned with Tom Huddlestone handed his first start in a bid to make a late claim to be part of the final squad of 23 for South Africa, which will be confirmed on Tuesday.
After seven minutes, Japan stung England by taking the lead in their first meaningful attack. Glen Johnson conceded a corner but then failed to pick up Tanaka when he ran onto Yasuhito Endo's low cross into the box. His first-time shot was well struck and flew past James into the corner of the net.
It was 19 minutes before England created their first worthwhile opening with Eiji Kawashima blocking a shot from Aaron Lennon after good play by Rooney and Huddlestone, while Darren Bent also passed up a chance to make his mark when he headed wide.
Capello made five changes at half-time with Joe Hart, Jamie Carragher, Steven Gerrard, Shaun Wright-Phillips and Joe Cole replacing James, Johnson, Huddlestone, Theo Walcott and Bent respectively.
Lampard squandered the chance to put England back on level terms after 55 minutes when his free-kick was handled in the area by Keisuke Honda's raised hand. The Chelsea midfielder stepped up to take the spot-kick but Kawashima dived away to his right to keep out his low shot.
England finally drew level after 73 minutes but it needed an own goal from Tanaka to bring them on level terms. Joe Cole cut in from the right and Tanaka only succeeded in heading past Kawashima.
Then in the 84th minute a second own goal, from Nakazawa, saw England finally go in front. This time the cross came from Ashley Cole on the left and Nakazawa's flick at full stretch turned the ball wide of Kawashima.
# Lampard keen to keep penalty duties
England midfielder Frank Lampard was keen to keep hold of penalty-taking duties after missing from the spot.
"It's down to the manager," the Chelsea player told ITV1. "I'll always want to take it. It wasn't a great penalty. It's disappointing because I've practised loads this week.
"I'm always confident in taking them and that will make me go away and work harder. If the manager wants me to take it I'll always step up."
The miss did not prove costly, with own goals by Marcus Tanaka and Yuji Nakazawa overturning Tanaka's opener. Overall, Lampard was pleased with the final work-out before heading out to South Africa.
"It was not an easy game," he said. "It was not a vintage performance by far but it's about players and the team trying to find their way a bit."
Reflecting on the result and Monday's 3-1 win over Mexico at Wembley, he added: "We've played two and won two. We have to take positives from that.
"It's down to the players. We've stepped up our game. In the first half we were slightly sluggish, and in the second half we got more of the ball and got the ball into their box more quickly."
# MATCH SUMMARY
Man of the Match: Wayne Rooney: Rooney was the only England player who played with the intensity and desire worthy of being on the winning side. Often dropping deep in search of the ball, his array of passes to Theo Walcott on the right and runs into the box made him a handful all over the field. His tracking back, desire to win the ball and shots from distance made him an example to those around him.
England verdict: England had an awful first half; certainly the worst since their dire showing away to Andorra in September 2008. It was slow, insipid and uninspired with Rooney the only player reaching the levels that Fabio Capello demands. They vastly improved after the break with Joe Cole and Steven Gerrard adding some much needed impetus to England's play.
Japan verdict: Japan did well to capitalise on England's lack of first half tempo and the lively Okazaki was always a threat, looking to get behind the defence. Keisuke Honda was pulling the strings at the expense of the sorry Tom Huddlestone, with Morimoto also dangerous as a second half subsitute. Japan were tidy in possession and imaginative at times but looked somewhat toothless as an attacking force.
Could do better: Tom Huddlestone: Huddlestone came into the game with the biggest opportunity to impress in the holding role, but he allowed the opportunity to pass him by. Too often he was ponderous in finding the right pass and sluggish in keeping tight to Japan's danger man, Honda. Lacked urgency and will almost certainly stay at home.
Stat Attack: This is the first time ever that England have benefited from two own goals in one match.
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