Harry Kane proved captain fantastic for England as he scored in injury time to ensure they qualified for the World Cup with a victory.
It had looked like England would have to rely on Scotland's victory over Slovakia to book their place in Russia after a poor display against Slovenia.
But Kane, who scored 13 goals for Tottenham and England last month, proved lethal up front yet again to steer Kyle Walker's cross from close range into the net.
The Spurs striker had told Standard Sport earlier in the day that captaining the national side on the day they qualified for a World Cup would be one of the best nights of his career and his dream came true.
But for the majority of those watching the side tonight, it was more of a nightmare due to the quality on display and much improvement is required before the tournament begins in June.
The increasing apathy toward the England team seemed clear for all to see on arrival at Wembley Stadium.
In previous qualifying campaigns, when England have been a game away from booking their place at a major tournament, there has been a real buzz of anticipation.
Yet Wembley Way didn't have the usual swarm of fans and before kick-off there were empty seats galore.
Now there had been a threat of a tube strike in the build-up. However, it was called off a few days ago and yet there wasn't a late rush for tickets from those that might have been put off beforehand by the potential travel disruption.
Read More
England have always been expected to qualify from Group F and they knew a win here would guarantee their place in Russia regardless of the result between Scotland and Slovakia.
Yet you would never know that such a prize was on offer given the way the home side performed from the outset.
Coach Gareth Southgate made two changes from the win over Slovakia last time out, with John Stones and Raheem Sterling replacing the injured Phil Jones and suspended Dele Alli.
By playing two holding midfielders in Eric Dier and Jordan Henderson against a rather defensive team, England lacked spark and invention.
Perhaps Southgate expected a bit more ambition from the visitors given they needed a win themselves to help their ambitions to finish runners-up and a place in the play-offs.
There was very little to get excited about in the opening 45 minutes. Marcus Rashford provided the most spark in an England shirt and at least looked capable of beating his marker.
The experiment of playing Sterling in the No.10 role in the absence of Alli didn't help matters.
The Manchester City star may have scored six goals for his club this term, but there was little sign of that kind of form here.
Similarly, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, who has struggled since joining Liverpool from Arsenal for £35m, didn't look comfortable on the right and was eventually substituted.
There was very little for Slovenia keeper Jan Oblak, one of the best in the old, to worry about.
A long range effort from Harry Kane was collected comfortably, while he palmed a Henderson to safety.
Despite their negative mindset, it was Slovenia who could have been ahead at the break.
Firstly, keeper Joe Hart could have given away a penalty when he recklessly dived at the feet of Josip Ilicic and appeared to make contact with the man and not the ball.
Then in the 19th minute Ilicic's cross found Roman Bezjak in the area without a defender in sight but he failed to get decent content.
Unsurprisingly, Southgate took advantage of a brief break in play to have a word with a number of his players to try and spark an improvement.
Apart from a disallowed goal from Kane after some pushing in the area by Sterling, it didn't have the desired effect.
Clearly, the half-time interval generated a better response because at least the home side started to look a bit more dangerous.
Rashford and Sterling suddenly seemed to be finding a bit more space to run into and make England look a bit more menacing.
The two combined for England's best chance up to that point just after the hour mark, but Rashford's delicate chip was cleared off the line by Miha Mevlja.
Then it was Sterling's time to be denied and it took an even better intervention from Bostjan Cesar to prevent the ball from finding the corner.
West Ham keeper Joe Hart had to be at his most alert to dive at the feet of Tim Matavz as he was sent through on goal late on.
But it said a lot that sections of the crowd were walking out long before the final whistle and Kane's intervention.
Before Kane found the net, those that remained were more thrilled by paper aeroplanes being thrown on to the pitch or when one fan ran on to the field and gave the stewards the runaround.
Still, a year on from taking charge, Southgate has completed the first part of his mission by getting England through Group F. But the hard work has only just begun.