No cup qualms for Capello

Capello: Calm before draw

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England manager Fabio Capello says he does not fear a 'group of death' ahead of the World Cup finals draw.

England are one of the top-eight seeds and will avoid the likes of pre-tournament favourites Brazil, current holders Italy and European champions Spain.

But the Italian is eager to warn of the danger of the African nations that will be represented in South Africa, including the likes of Ivory Coast and Nigeria.

England could also be paired against the unseeded France and Portugal, the latter of the two having knocked England out of their last two major tournaments.

Capello remains unfazed by the prospect of a so called 'group of death' situation though, and he said: "No I don't (worry) about that.

"You have to play against all of the teams at some point, but of course if you play against the best teams it's not so easy to pass the first round.

"If we want to win you have to play against all of the teams. It is not important which team we have to play in the group."

Football Association chairman Lord Triesman said England "will sail through" the group stage if they emulate their qualifying form, where Capello's men lost just one of their 10 matches.

Caution

The England manager urged some caution though, and he tipped one of the African nations to reach the semi-finals.

England have a one-in-five chance of drawing an African side, alongside a guaranteed European team.

The other option will come from an unseeded South American side and one team from Asia, Oceania and north/central America zones.

"I think about Africans and I believe this will be one of the most important World Cups for the African teams," Capello said.

"I believe one of these countries will get to the last four. I saw the Ivory Coast play against Germany and they are a very strong team."

David Beckham - in South Africa promoting England's 2018 World Cup bid - also said Capello's side should not worry about their group opponents.

He added: "If you want to go all the way in the competition you have to come up against them at some point.

"You are going to have to beat the best teams and the best players so it doesn't really matter when you come up against them."