Jesse Lingard's maiden international goal ruined Ronald Koeman's debut in charge of Netherlands as England recorded a 1-0 victory in Amsterdam.
Lingard's first-time strike from the edge of the box in the 59th minute secured England a morale-boosting result as they stepped up their World Cup preparations.
After back-to-back 0-0 draws with heavyweights Brazil and Germany last November, Gareth Southgate's side turned in a promising performance despite the absence of star striker Harry Kane through injury.
A fourth successive clean sheet, secured with Kyle Walker playing in a back three, showed England have solid foundations to build on, while they looked bright and bubbly in possession.
In contrast, Koeman will now fully appreciate the size of the task he faces with the Oranje, who saw their five-match winning streak end with a whimper on home turf.
Jordan Pickford enjoyed a comfortable outing in goal as England eased to their first triumph over their opponents since a famous 4-1 thrashing at Wembley during Euro 96.
Both Southgate and Koeman opted to start with three at the back, though the former was forced into an early change when Joe Gomez limped off in the 10th minute after rolling his left ankle.
Harry Maguire was summoned ahead of schedule from the bench, yet a reshuffled England defence featuring Walker in an unfamiliar central role was rarely bothered in the first half.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain tested Jeroen Zoet with a rising drive while Marcus Rashford came agonisingly close to converting Jordan Henderson's weak header from Kieran Trippier's free-kick that nearly teed up his team-mate at the back post.
While England were energetic, a sluggish Netherlands hardly troubled Pickford, who was handed the chance to impress in the battle to start between the posts in Russia.
England had a strong appeal for a penalty turned down early in the second half, the marauding Rashford seemingly floored late by a sliding challenge from Matthijs de Ligt, before the visitors deservedly moved ahead.
Having initially set Danny Rose free down the left, Lingard continued his forward progress and was rewarded when a deflected cross ran kindly into his path, allowing him to steer a low drive beyond Zoet.
Koeman rang the changes in the hope of finding an attacking spark, yet instead he witnessed a worryingly flat performance from a squad who finished an unsuccessful World Cup qualifying campaign with a flourish.
Instead it was England who looked more likely to score again, Trippier's stinging drive forcing Zoet into a save as Southgate was able to celebrate his first friendly win since taking charge.
