Leighton Baines the key figure as Roy Hodgson casts off shackles

Leighton Baines repaid Roy Hodgson's decision to throw caution to the wind with a pivotal performance as England swept to the World Cup on an unexpected wave of optimism on Tuesday.

Everton defender Baines provided the assist as Manchester United star Wayne Rooney got the vital, nerve-settling opening goal in a 2-0 win over Poland at Wembley that booked England's place in Brazil next year.

It was a superbly constructed goal that perfectly epitomised the upbeat mood suddenly energising England as their road to Rio reached a conclusion that was hard to imagine only a few weeks ago.

Just last month, England manager Hodgson was being chastised for his team's negative tactics and dour approach in a 0-0 draw against Ukraine in Kiev that left their hopes of qualifying for the World Cup on a knife-edge.

The criticism struck a nerve with the usually placid Hodgson, who took a verbal swipe at Gary Lineker in response to the former England striker's claim that the performance in Ukraine "awful".

But fast forward five weeks and the transformation since that dispiriting evening in Eastern Europe has been remarkable.

In the space of five days, England have produced the two most entertaining performances of Hodgson's reign under the most intense pressure and buccaneering left-back Baines has been key to the revival.

After adopting a safety-first approach for much of his reign since succeeding Fabio Capello just before Euro 2012, Hodgson finally cast off his shackles against Montenegro on Friday and was rewarded with a 4-1 victory that put England on the brink of the finals with one match to play.

Tottenham winger Andros Townsend's man of the match display on his debut earned all the headlines that night, but equally significant was the way England's four-man forward line pressed the visitors back with help from the full-backs, who often linked up as auxiliary attackers.

Both Baines and right-back Kyle Walker joined in the attacks whenever possible in a way that Hodgson never would have allowed in the early days of his reign.

With Walker suspended against Poland, it was left to Baines to prove the extra width in the decisive clash against Poland and he rose to the challenge.

An efficient defensive display, highlighted by his astute reading of the game, kept Polish dangerman Jakub Blaszczykowski subdued for long periods, but Baines' biggest impact came in the 41st minute when he surged onto Michael Carrick's pass and whipped over a teasing cross that Rooney met with a glancing header past Wojciech Szczesny.

Time and again Baines was a thorn in Poland's side and it was hard to recall he was only playing due to the rib injury that left Chelsea's Ashley Cole on the sidelines.

But for all Cole's undoubted talents, he no longer plays with the vibrancy that Baines bring to the table.

Hodgson will have noticed that England were hardly undone by Cole's absence and a strong case can be made that Baines has proved he merits the starting left-back spot when the World Cup gets under way.