England fans at home erupted with joy and relief on Wednesday after watching Fabio Capello's team scrape through to the last 16 of the World Cup - although admitting it was still a nervy performance.

Packed into pubs or watching the crucial match at work, supporters dejected by England's lacklustre performances in the two previous games punched the air when Jermain Defoe scored the first-half goal.

But many were left biting finger nails as Slovenia came back strongly at times in the second-half, with just one goal needed to potentially deprive them of a place in the knock-out round.

"We played very well, but it should be 3-0. At the start of the game they weren't playing very well, and then we got the goal. But we should have had more goals," said Phil Simon, 57, in the Duke of York pub in central London.

"We should be more consistent. If we are I believe we could win the World Cup, if they build on this then we have a team ...we've got to believe that we can win," he added after the 1-0 win over Slovenia.

The match in Port Elizabeth was crucial to England's World Cup hopes of progressing beyond the group stage, after draws in their first two matches against the United States and Algeria.

England's win put them into second place in Group C behind the United States. Both teams face knock-out games at the weekend.

Adam McManus, 32, from Balham, south London, said: "It was a much better performance, we showed a lot more spirit. "They looked like they were a football team whereas they didn't last time.

"They looked like they believed in themselves.

"But they kept us on the edge of our seats and we should have scored more goals.

In the Duke of York there were shouts of "Come on England," especially when Wayne Rooney hit the post in the second half.

"The second half was a bit difficult but they've done really well in the first," said Mark Whiteman, 33.

Alan Corlett, 58, from Liverpool, agreed. "Today the body language was absolutely brilliant, the attitude was fantastic, we proved we can play.

"We've raised our game and put our demons to rest. We can go all the way. We just don't want the Germans in the next round - although I suppose we've got to beat them some time," he added.

The game's afternoon kick-off meant that many England fans took time off work to watch the match, even though there is still a long way to go before the national team has a chance of real glory.

The Trades Union Congress (TUC) umbrella labour union group had called for bosses to be lenient on employees tuning in to the match - which was also shown live on a big screen at the Glastonbury festival.

A survey by energy firm nPower suggested that 58 percent of businesses were planning to let football fans watch the big game, with over a third - 39 percent - planning to screen the match in the workplace to boost morale.

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