Capello - Players have no fear

Italian coach has England firing on all cylinders

By Chris Burton   Last updated: 31st March 2009   Subscribe to RSS Feed

Capello - Players have no fear

Capello: Has raised expectations

BET ON FOOTBALL
Wayne Rooney wins his 50th cap on Wednesday and Sky Bet are offering odds on the Manchester United striker will do first in the World Cup qualifier against Ukraine.
He's 7/4 to score before he's shown a yellow card (4/1), he's substituted (4/1), hits the woodwork (9/1) and 33/1 he's sent off.
Click here for all markets ahead of England's clash with Ukraine.

Related links

Teams

Also see

Fabio Capello believes his key men are starting to replicate their club form on the international stage.

A criticism regularly levelled at England's biggest stars, such as Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard, is that they have failed to deliver the goods when representing their country.

Performances have often fallen well below the standards set in domestic action, with little explanation offered as to why this was the case.

However, under Capello's careful guidance, England are once again starting to look like a cohesive unit, with expectations on the rise ahead of next year's World Cup finals.

"I think all the players have a lot of confidence. They play without fear," said the Italian coach.

"They can play with the same confidence as they do for their club. In the past they have not been able to play at the same level for the national team as they did with their club."

Next up for England is a 2010 World Cup qualifier against Ukraine on Wednesday.

A 4-0 rout of hapless Slovakia on Saturday has the Three Lions in buoyant mood, with Capello hoping the wave of optimism washing over the camp can carry them through their latest challenge.

Confidence

"I am happy after (Slovakia) the game. We recovered some movement, with and without the ball, and we created a lot of opportunities to score goals. For me it was a very important test," he said.

"I think the game against Slovakia was important for our confidence. We can now play with more confidence. I also feel the fans were happy with the performance of the team. I hope Wembley will prove to be like a bunker for the other teams."

On the upcoming clash with Ukraine, Capello said: "It will be a very dangerous game because Ukraine play very well on the counter attack.

"We will need to stay focused during the game. In all the games I have studied they have played very well. It will be a tough game."

Capello has also spoken of his admiration for Ukraine's talismanic striker Andriy Shevchenko who, despite enduring a couple of difficult seasons, remains one of Europe's top marksmen.

"I know him well. He was a fantastic striker when he was with AC Milan," said Capello.

"He scored a lot of goals against me when I was manager of Roma. He is a very good player. He hasn't played a lot this season, but he is always dangerous."