International friendly: England 2 Netherlands 3

Arjen Robben scored a brilliant double, including a late winner, to resist England’s late comeback in the Netherland’s 3-2 win on Wednesday.

Despite playing well within themselves for nearly an hour, outstanding attacking play by the Dutch in the second half exposed England’s fragility in what is likely to be caretaker manager Stuart Pearce’s first and only match in charge.

Trailing 2-0 after goals from Robben and Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, England pulled a goal back in the 85th minute when Gary Cahill appeared from nowhere in the centre-forward’s position to guide the ball calmly through the legs of the Dutch goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg.

A minute into added time, Ashley Young appeared to have snatched a draw for the home side when he scored with a clever dink.

But the magnificent Robben had other ideas, taking a ball on the right side of the box a minute later and shaping a curling shot into the top corner to claim the win.

England and Holland looked like two teams fulfilling a contractual obligation in the first half with few decent opportunities, with the visitors in particular lacking intensity.

Pearce’s first game in charge of the senior national team got off to a bad start after Steven Gerrard was substituted after only 32 minutes with what the FA said was a tight hamstring just three days after his 120 minutes of action and penalties in Sunday’s Carling Cup final.

A 0-0 score line was a fair reflection at half-time but Daniel Sturridge lifted the mood at Wembley with a neat move shortly after the break, cleverly rolling the ball to his left before snapping a fizzing shot that was well pushed away by Stelekenburg.

That seemed to spark the Dutch into action and Robben scored the opener in the 57th minute when he picked up a loose ball 10 yards inside his own half, sprinted straight towards goal and jinked away from Cahill on the edge of the box before driving a thumping low shot back across Joe Hart and into the corner.

A minute later and Klaas-Jan Huntelaar doubled the Netherlands’ lead with his head but in the process of scoring clashed heads with England defender Chris Smalling.

Both players crashed to the ground after the sickening aerial challenge and required lengthy treatment on the pitch, before Smalling was carefully stretchered down the tunnel and on to a waiting ambulance, while Huntelaar was immediately substituted with a suspected broken nose.

It looked as though the Netherlands would cruise to victory before England’s late fight-back, but Robben’s class ensured they would make amends for their last effort at Wembley – a 4-1 defeat in 1996.