Frank Lampard opened the scoring from the penalty spot in the first-half and Jermain Defoe doubled the lead after the break as Fabio Capello's side, who conceded a late Zlatan Ljubijankic header, warmed up for Wednesday's qualifier versus Croatia.
The Three Lions, who can book a place at the World Cup with three points next week, kept the ball nicely in the first half, but they were made to work by their slick opponents.
However, Capello's men took the lead in the 31st min
ute when Lampard converted a penalty which had been softly awarded following a collision between Wayne Rooney and Bostjan Cesar.
Tottenham striker Defoe, a half-time substitute, then continued his fine form for club and country when hitting England's second from the edge of the Slovenia box in the 63rd minute.
The visitors, though, grabbed a cherished consolation with five minutes remaining as Glen Johnson failed to prevent Nejc Pecnik from crossing and Zlatan Ljubijankic nipped in to nod past Robert Green.
Now Capello must decide whether to leave things as they are, or elevate Defoe into his starting line-up.
In fact, Capello has quite a lot of thinking to do. Robert Green suffered a couple of early problems and £22million defender Joleon Lescott allowed Ljubijankic to escape his clutches.
In addition, Rooney failed to convert three fine chances to score, having one shot blocked, another hit a post and a third booted off the line.
He could claim an assist for England's opener though as he was the man dragged down in the box to allow Lampard to drive home the penalty.
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