Fabio Capello's thoughts on Robert Green and Wayne Rooney
Fabio Capello has defended his judgement, not to name his line-up until a couple of hours before kick-off after seeing goalkeeper Robert Green make a terrible blunder during England’s 1-1 draw aginst the USA in their opening World Cup match.
Green fumbled a weak 25-yard effort from Clint Dempsey and could only watch helplessly as the ball spun behind him and trickled agonisingly over the line. It stunned England completely after they had got off to a dream start with a goal from skipper Steven Gerrard in only the fourth minute.
And there was worse news to follow for England when Capello stated that Ledley King had been taken off at half-time and replaced by Liverpool's Jamie Carragher because the Tottenham Hotspur defender has suffered an abductor injury which may well keep him out of Friday's crucial match against Algeria.
However, Capello believes his decision to keep his goalkeepers in the dark until two hours before kick off at the Royal Bafokeng Stadium was not an error of judgement.
"No, absolutely not," he said. "I decided Green would be the goalkeeper because he played the last game very well and at Wembley against Mexico the performance was very good too. He made one mistake, but in the second half he made a good save. This is the problem of the goalkeeper. We have to accept the mistakes of goalkeepers and of referees and of forwards. This is football."
Capello, however, declined to confirm that he would stand by Green in the game against Algeria, saying: "We have time to decide and to speak with him and I will decide."
The England manager also replaced James Milner after just half an hour, bringing on Shaun Wright-Phillips, explaining that he was concerned that the Aston Villa midfielder could get his marching orders after receiving an early yellow card.
But Capello stated, "We played a good match and created a lot of chances. But the result is not okay for us. We played better than USA but the USA are very good. I saw the spirit of England and the team. They fight every time to win back the ball.
"I am not worried for the next game about their physical condition. We ran better in the second half than the USA. But now we have to look forward for the next game."
They may have to do so without King who was always a gamble for Capello, based on recent injuries to the defender. Speaking on Wayne Rooney's performance, Capello said: "I think his movement was good. He shot once very well and his movement was very important."
USA and Everton goalkeeper Tim Howard, meanwhile, admitted he had nothing but compassion for Green after witnessing his dreadful mistake. "I feel terrible for him, but in goalkeeping you have to have broad shoulders," he said.
On being beaten by Gerrard’s opening strike Howard said, "We weren't sharp early on especially with the goal. The marking was too lax, but you can't dwell on it with 90 minutes to play. It deflated us but we responded well and when we calmed down and got in the flow of the game we did well.
"It was backs to the wall. It wasn't pretty but I am happy overall. We're glad it's over. There's been a lot of hype and pressure. I'm just glad we put in a performance we can be proud of."
USA coach Bob Bradley said, "It was important for us to take a point. The reponse from the team was strong and there are good things we can take away from the match. There was a big battle in midfield and I felt ours as a whole did a good job. It was a fast, hard game and we were pleased at how we competed with England."
Speaking about Gerrard's opening goal he added, "There was a big hole in our back line. England made us pay but it forced us to get ourselves going very quickly. It was a good team effort defensively. Wayne Rooney is a good mobile player. Our back line was a bit out of sync in the first half but we got better in the second. We had a good focus all the time. We came away with positives to get ready against Slovenia."
Tags: