GROUP C
▲England 1 - 0 Slovenia
Fabio Capello was all smiles after watching his England rediscover their form to qualify for the round-of-16 of the World Cup with a 1-0 win over Slovenia on Wednesday.
The victory secured them the runners-up spot in Group C and a second-round date in Bloemfontein on Sunday, where old enemies Germany will be waiting.
Jermain Defoe saved England from a humiliating first-round exit, the Tottenham Hotspur striker who had replaced Emile Heskey volleying home in the 23rd minute.
Capello’s relief was obvious after seeing his players come back from the edge of World Cup humiliation after two poor opening draws with the US and Algeria.
“That’s the team that I know,” the Italian said. “That’s the spirit that I remember from our qualifying games, the spirit that they had lost in our last game [the drab goalless draw with Algeria]. The team’s performance was really very good, we created lots of chances for the second goal, but couldn’t get it. We had to suffer in the last few minutes, it was very important to win today.”
Wayne Rooney was just one member of Capello’s side that put his lackluster showing in the first two matches to one side to produce a performance more in keeping with his standing as one of the world’s top strikers.
The Manchester United star made way for Joe Cole with 20 minutes to go.
England’s build-up to a game that was going to make or break their World Cup campaign was overshadowed by John Terry’s failed challenge to Capello’s tough regime and his resistance in picking Cole, one of England’s best players at the 2006 World Cup.
Capello had described his former captain’s failed mutiny as “a big mistake” and had called on him to produce “a big performance” against Slovenia.
Terry did just that, with a series of potentially match-saving tackles and blocks as he led England’s defense.
“Yes, Terry’s a leader on the pitch,” Capello said. “He put in a really important performance.”
The England boss believes his team, having extricated themselves from the first round, will now take flight into a free-flowing unit.
“Yes, I think we will play with more confidence now. The quality of my players is very good, they’ve improved a lot physically,” he said.
Asked at the post-match press conference how he had gone about rediscovering England’s lost zest, he replied: “I talked to the players, I showed them the first half of our last match, they understood that wasn’t the good way to go forward. They became more focused in training, training was good, fast, we saw the same [level] that we see in the Premier League.”
With the US grabbing a stoppage-time goal to beat Algeria and snatch top spot in Group C, England will be up against Germany next.
Before leaving, Capello was asked whether he would allow his players a celebratory beer.
After the question had been translated for him, he nodded, smiled and said: “I let them have a beer last night, you can ask.”
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