Published: Today at 19:07
DANNY WELBECK'S first-half strike secured the second victory of Roy Hodgson's reign — sending England off toEuro 2012 with a spring in their step.
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Having beaten Norway 1-0 in Hodgson's first game in charge, the Three Lions repeated the scoreline to ensure their final warm-up match ended on a positive note.
Former West Brom boss Hodgson will know there is still plenty to work on before his troops face France on June 11, but the solid display was enough to send the Wembley faithful home with a real sense of optimism.
England had an early scare when left-back Ashley Cole was left limping in the second minute.
But the Chelsea man quickly ran off what TV replays showed to be nothing more than an unfortunate kick in the unmentionables.
The Three Lions looked nervous during the opening exchanges, with skipper Steven Gerrard guilty of gifting possession to Belgium.
But the hosts eventually settled into a more assured stride as they looked for a positive result before heading to Poland and Ukraine.
John Terry's lofted ball found its way through to James Milner in the eighth minute, only for Arsenal's Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain to lose his footing and fail to make proper contact with his fellow wideman's drilled cross.
Chelsea-bound Eden Hazard looked lively as Belgium gradually began to boss possession and push England back towards Joe Hart's goal.
The pressure failed to produce anything to worry Hart before Cole released Welbeck with a perfectly-weighted ball.
Welbeck had time to assess his options and tee up the onrushing Oxlade-Chamberlain, who struck his effort well this time but harmlessly high and wide.
Dries Mertens then shoved Gary Cahill into Hart as he raced after a bouncing pass from Marouane Fellaini before knocking the ball into an empty net.
The push resulted in a yellow card for Mertens and an early exit for Cahill, who was replaced by Joleon Lescott.
Belgium continued to stroke the ball around and stretch England, culminating in Axel Witsel firing a rising drive just over Hart's bar with 23 minutes gone.
Glen Johnson was lucky to escape a yellow card for a foul on Mertens after a nice give-and-go, but England hacked the ball away for a corner from the resulting free-kick.
Parker became the first England player to go into the referee's notebook just before the half-hour mark, while Cole introduced himself to Hazard with a lunging challenge just seconds later.
Ashley Young was impeded as he looked to break but the set-piece came to nothing as the Manchester United man sent his delivery soaring over Lescott's head.
The deadlock was broken after 36 minutes when Gerrard fed Young, who in turn slipped the ball through for Welbeck to clip a cool left-foot finish over the diving Simon Mignolet.
England stepped up the pressure as half-time approached and Gerrard was denied by blocks from Timmy Simons and Thomas Vermaelen with the clock ticking down.
The hosts started the second half brightly and Oxlade-Chamberlain's cross was put behind for a corner, which was headed over by Terry, while Tottenham target Jan Vertonghen fired high as Belgium looked for an immediate response.
Wayne Rooney, who will miss the first two games of Euro 2012, replaced Welbeck in the 53rd minute as Hodgson handed his goalscorer a deserved rest.
Rooney was quickly involved but Young lost possession after linking with his United team-mate, allowing the Belgians to break before Mertens drilled another effort over Hart's goal.
Belgium made their first change as the hour approached, sending on Nacer Chadli for Kevin Mirallas.
Hart was called into action after the switch but Hazard's curling effort produced a routine save from the keeper, as did Marouane Fellaini's low shot moments later.
England made a double change in the 66th minute — Jermain Defoe replacing Young and Theo Walcott coming on for Arsenal team-mate Oxlade-Chamberlain.
Terry was next to be hooked as Phil Jagielka was given a run ahead of the important stuff in just over a week's time.
And the substitutions continued with young Chelsea striker Romelu Lukaku coming on for Mertens in the 72nd minute.
Lukaku was quickly involved but Cole blocked his shot before play was stopped due to blood streaming from Lescott's head, staining his pristine white shirt.
Lescott was off the pitch receiving treatment when Guillaume Gillet left Hart well beaten with a right-foot shot that thumped against the post.
Belgium stepped on the gas after striking the woodwork but again their hard work in keeping possession failed to result in clear-cut chances.
As the clock ticked down, it was Defoe's turn to hit the post. The England striker whipped in a low effort but was left with his head in his hands as the ball rebounded to safety with Mignolet rooted to the spot.
Gerrard handed the captain's armband to Rooney as Jordan Henderson came on for the final seven minutes or so.
But according to TV pundit and former Republic of Ireland midfielder Andy Townsend, the Liverpool ace had done enough to earn the man-of-the-match award.
Much like that of his team, Gerrard's performance was unspectacular, but it was enough to leave Hodgson with good reasons to be cheerful.
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