Fabio Capello said he was “quite happy” with England’s performance after watching his side suffer their first loss under him.
England went down to a 1-0 defeat to France at the Stade de France, although the narrow margin of their defeat could not disguise the fact that the home side were much the better team throughout.
Capello insisted afterwards he was pleased with England’s overall performance.
“I saw some important improvements. We were playing against a top level team and we did well,” said Capello.
“We didn’t let our opponents play and played with personality. We played especially well in the first half.
“I saw some very good things against a top-level team,” he said. “That showed me what our worth is.”
He also praised David Beckham who was making his 100th appearance for England.
“I was very pleased with David Beckham,” said Capello. “I only substituted him because I wanted to see other players and I know Beckham as a player very well.
“I told the players I am happy we made progress compared to Switzerland, even though we won that game. I made the team play two different ways so I could see many players. My ideas are now a lot clearer.”
Capello made six substitutions, although he insists this was not a reflection of poor individual performances, but because he wanted to see more of his players in action before England’s first World Cup qualifier with Andorra on 6th September.
“I need to see all the players play, especially in real matches like this, to get a clear idea of what to do when the World Cup qualifying campaign starts,” Capello continued.
