By Chris Hatherall
LONDON, Aug 16 - England manager Fabio Capello is
so confident in the progress of his team that he believes they
are already good enough to challenge European champions Spain.
Capello watched the Euro 2008 championship in Switzerland
and Austria but returned home convinced that his own side, who
had failed to qualify, were more than a match for anything he
saw there.
As England prepare to face the Czech Republic in a friendly
at Wembley on Wednesday, Capello has challenged his players to
prove him right in the World Cup qualifying campaign.
"The Czech game is an important game because I hope to get
the answers from the players that I expect," he told reporters
on Friday.
"I have confidence in these players, confidence because I've
seen the steps we've taken in four friendly matches.
"I saw the Euros and the other teams and I think we are a
very good team. I think we will win.
"The other managers before me is not important, this is my
idea and my opinion. I know the players very well now."
Capello's confidence contrasts with the views of many
experts who saw Spain win Euro 2008 with an attractive and
technical style of football that England have struggled to
emulate under a series of coaches.
The current manager is adamant that the Spanish can be
matched.
"I think three months ago people never spoke about Spain.
Now they are the best team in the world -- it's a miracle!" the
Italian said.
"Spain is a very good team, they played well. But we are a
different style and I think we can win against Spain. Why not?
I'm very confident in my team."
Capello sees Wednesday's match as a dress rehearsal for two
away World Cup qualifiers against Andorra and Croatia in
September and believes his team are warming to his ideas and
methods.
"When I started working with the players they were a bit
scared and afraid," he said. "But after that a lot of players
have played better.
"It was not fear about me -- it was just very soon after
failing to qualify for Euro 2008 and for the players it was like
an examination or a test. Now it is different.
"I know what these players can do. When playing with their
clubs there is no losing mentality, there is a winning
mentality. We have to transfer the same mentality to the
national team, to play with the same confidence.
"I think they know me now -- my style, the movement around
the pitch that I want. They know and it is better now."
Capello's biggest problem is to find a goalscorer to lead
the line for England given that Michael Owen is injury prone and
Wayne Rooney has struggled to score as often as his reputation
demands.
He believes the lack of strike power is a problem shared by
teams worldwide.
"Only (Spain's Fernando) Torres is a big striker in this
moment in the world. The others -- Italy: so-so, Germany: so-so.
Portugal: no. Also the French, you didn't see anything. It's a
big problem now because the teams defend very well. It's a
problem everywhere.
"You have to play in a different style -- the other players
they have to score more goals."
(Editing by Clare Fallon)