Ashley Cole remains optimistic about England's chances of progression despite drawing against Algeria.
Left-back grateful for USA and Slovenia stalemate
England defender Ashley Cole remains optimistic about his team's chances of progression from Group C despite their draw against Algeria.
The Three Lions were left stunned as they could only muster a 0-0 stalemate against their rivals in Cape Town following a display devoid of attacking flair and guile.
The result means the pool remains finely poised going into the final round of matches, with any four of the teams still able to clinch a top-two place.
The only consolation for Fabio Capello was that their rivals, the USA and Slovenia, cancelled each other out in a 2-2 draw at Ellis Park on Wednesday afternoon.
Slovenia head the table and England must now beat them to safeguard their spot in the tournament.
The Slovenians let a two-goal advantage slip against the States and Cole was left counting his blessings as his team failed to seize an opportunity to take command of the group.
The 29-year-old Chelsea left-back said: "It could have been worse. It's lucky the USA got a draw today.
"Now we need to pick ourselves up and get ready for Wednesday, which is a big game for us.
"I'm still confident in our ability and we should win on Wednesday. But we know we need to improve and it is down to us now."
