Abby Brammell

By Matt Lawton

European union: Fabio Capello (centre) lines up with his opposing managers in Group G, from left to right, John Toshack (Wales), Zlatko Kranjcar (Montenegro), Ottmar Hitzfeld (Switzerland) and Stanimir Stoilov (Bulgaria)


While Fabio Capello may have been reluctant to discuss issues surrounding the England captaincy in Warsaw on Sunday, he was only too happy to focus on the fact that he had again got lucky in a major championship draw.

After the good news he received in South Africa in December, when England were drawn against the USA, Algeria and Slovenia for this summer’s World Cup finals, England found themselves sharing a qualifying group with Switzerland, Bulgaria, Wales and Montenegro.

'Every game will be really tough,’ he said. ‘It will be interesting. It will be impossible for us to play even one game relaxed. I was speaking to John Toshack on the plane and he was telling me how Wales are a young team. Their average age is 22 years. But it’s nice to focus on football. Please, I only want to talk about the draw.

‘Switzerland will be tough. My first game as England manager was against Switzerland (a 2-1 win) and we have moved along since then. I remember I was really happy after seeing them play in training, but it was not the same in the match. When we play Switzerland again, we will show that we have progressed since my first game.

‘I know a lot of Welsh players - they are good, young players. It will be interesting. Derbies are never normal games. It will be one of the most important games for me.’

It will be the first ever meeting with Montenegro - England played Serbia and Montenegro in a friendly at Leicester in 2003 - and one that will be particularly interesting given the identity of their coach Zlatko Krancjar, the father of Tottenham’s Croatian winger Niko.

Toshack reflected on his flight with Capello before commenting on the draw.

‘We spoke mostly about football outside this country,’ said the Wales manager. ‘We have both managed Real Madrid on two occasions, I think we are the only two managers who have done that.

‘We talked about the game in Spain a little bit, Barcelona and Madrid and not a great deal about England.

‘Obviously it will be a difficult group for us and England will be the favourites. But our lads will relish the challenge.’










source: dailymail