Thursday Feb 07 2008 13:05
Fabio Capello claimed there were plenty of positives to take after England defeated Switzerland 2-1 in his first game in charge.
The Italian coach sprang surprises with his team selection after handing starts to Jermaine Jenas and Gareth Barry in midfield and Ashley Cole at left-back.
However, his 4-5-1 formation with Wayne Rooney employed as a lone striker improved as the game wore on and eventually picked up a morale-boosting victory courtesy of goals from Jenas and substitute Shaun Wright-Phillips.
"I'm very happy. I think we did some very good things," said Capello.
"There are obviously some things we need to improve on but we moved well on the pitch, we created a lot of chances before the second goal and they scored with their first real chance.
"We were quite nervous at the start. Worried. We had at the back of our minds the failure to qualify for Euro 2008.
"Wembley always generates pressure on players but we created many goal chances but didn't take many because Switzerland have a good goalkeeper.
"But we didn't give them many goal chances."
Meanwhile, the head-line coach has warned established players that he will not pick future teams on sentiment after leaving Michael Owen on the bench and omitting former captain David Beckham from the squad entirely.
"I think about substitutions according to what happens on the pitch and what I see. I decide who to bring on and who to take off," he said when asked about the non-appearance of the Newcastle United striker.
"If people perform as I want they will stay on the pitch, if they don't they will come off. Players are all equal."
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