A superb late header from skipper John Terry gave England a much-deserved 2-1 friendly international victory over Germany in Berlin.

The skipper's 86th-minute winner was just reward for a fine performance from Fabio Capello's side, which was deprived of many of it's first-choice stars in the Olympic Stadium.

Terry's central defensive partner Matthew Upson gave the visitors a first-half lead before a shocking mix-up at the back allowed German substitute Patrick Helmes to grab a second-half equaliser.

Capello handed a debut to Gabriel Agbonlahor, who lined up in attack with Jermain Defoe, and the strike duo were in the thick of things from the beginning, their pace and industry causing the Germans problems at the back as England made an assertive start.

It was from a set-piece however that Upson gave the visitors their deserved lead in the 24th minute.

German keeper Rene Adler made a mess of dealing with a superb Stewart Downing right-wing corner, completely misjudging the flight of the ball, and the West Ham defender was quickest on the scene to poke home from inside the six-yard box.

A set-piece at the other end gave Germany their first and only chance of the first half as Heiko Westermann sneaked in between Terry and Upson to meet Bastian Schweinsteiger's free-kick on 33 minutes, but the Schalke man was off-target with a header from 15 yards.

England meanwhile continued to look confident and comfortable in possession and they nearly established the two-goal lead their performance deserved when Downing's rasping drive from 20 yards was well parried by Adler shortly before the break.

Darren Bent was introduced for Defoe at half-time while Scott Carson replaced Defoe's Portsmouth team-mate, David James, in goal.

Bent wasted a wonderful opportunity to double the visitors' lead in the 63rd minute when he lost his footing after rounding Germany substitute keeper Tim Wiese, and succeeded in missing the target completely with the goal at his mercy.

It was a let-off for Germany, and only a minute later, they profited from more good fortune to grab a barely-deserved equaliser.

Terry and Carson left a long-ball over the top for each other, and as the England pair waited for the other to take control of the situation, Helmes nipped in to poke the ball through the keeper's legs and roll the ball into an empty net.

It was a calamitous goal to concede but England immediately set about getting their lead back, with Agbonlahor's drive narrowly wide of the target and Downing's free-kick well saved by Wiese.

Shaun Wright-Phillips struck the post with a superb drive from outside the box with 11 minutes remaining but with England's fine performance looking unlikely to be rewarded with a win, Terry rose to meet Downing's free-kick and the skipper made up for his earlier mistake by planting a header past Wiese, which found the net via the inside of the post.