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Capello sounds cautious note

11 Sep 2008 - 07:29:56

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Fabio Capello sounded a cautious note after admitting England's 4-1 World Cup qualifying victory over Croatia came as something of a surprise.

Theo Walcott's stunning hat-trick and another strike from Wayne Rooney helped a previously below-par England bury the ghosts of losing twice to Croatia during their ill-fated qualifying campaign for Euro 2008.

England now sit at the top of Group Six after taking six points from their two opening games, but Capello was keen to stress the need for composure after the final whistle in Zagreb.

"The result was better than I expected, but I said in the build-up that I had a lot of confidence in the players because we have all worked very well in the 10 days," said the Italian.

"We played well, we played like a team, very compact and with no problems.

"We studied the style of Croatia and we tried to make it difficult for them to play their usual way.

"But let's not get carried away. We have just started. It is the second game of the qualifying round. It is a good performance, a good result, but it is nothing.

"It is only one game. There is much still to do and games like Belarus and Ukraine will also be tough."

Meanwhile, Capello reserved special praise for Walcott after selecting the Arsenal forward ahead of the likes of David Beckham and David Bentley.

"He is young and so dangerous for defenders," he added. "He is one of the most important young players in England.

"I hope he doesn't get any injuries because he is so fast and so dangerous."