WEMBLEY, England — England's players left coach Fabio Capello frustrated at their lack of aggression in an unconvincing 3-1 victory over Mexico on Monday.
While defenders Ledley King and Glen Johnson scored and Peter Crouch had a contentious goal, problems on defense made it an uncomfortable night for England at Wembley Stadium.
England, which opens its World Cup campaign against the United States on June 12, relied on goalkeeper Robert Green and a tactical change at halftime to beat its fellow World Cup qualifier.
"The manager wanted more aggression from the whole team," England midfielder Steven Gerrard said. "They had too much possession in the first half, we stood off them and let them play. In the second half we got in their faces and stopped them playing. We need to be more aggressive."
Returning after a three-year international absence, King headed in England's opener in the 17th minute after Crouch's setup across the net.
And Crouch, King's Tottenham teammate, managed to score a second — with the help of his arm — in the 34th from a rebound after goalkeeper Oscar Perez touched Wayne Rooney's header onto the crossbar.
England, though, was being outplayed, with Green twice denying Mexico's Arsenal forward Carlos Vela, while Carlos Salcido hit the goal post.
Mexico is in action again on Wednesday against the Netherlands and takes on Gambia on Sunday.
ARGENTINA 5, CANADA 0: At Buenos Aires, Argentina, Maxi Rodriguez scored two goals in the Gauchos' final tuneup before their World Cup opener June 12 against Nigeria. Real Salt Lake's Will Johnson started for the Canadians and played the entire game.
SOUTH AFRICA 1, BULGARIA 1: At Johannesburg, South Africa played with confidence against a team ranked 56 places above it, and defender Siyabonga Sangweni powered home a header to give Bafana Bafana a 20th-minute lead.
PORTUGAL 0, CAPE VERDE 0: At Covilha, Portugal, the home team had a disappointing draw with Cape Verde Islands, a country ranked 117th in the world. Cristiano Ronaldo had little impact despite playing 90 minutes Monday. He had several chances but repeatedly shot wide.
SOUTH KOREA 2, JAPAN 0: At Saitama, Japan, Park Ji-sung scored in the first half and Park Chu-young in the second.
AUSTRALIA 2, NEW ZEALAND 1: At Melbourne, Australia, Brett Holman scored the tiebreaking goal deep into injury time.