Capello's 'big option'
Wednesday, 03 March, 2010
Manager pleased to have strike selection headache.
Julian Bennetts
England Manager Fabio Capello said he was delighted with Peter Crouch’s display in the 3-1 victory against Egypt and was pleased to have been given a selection headache.
The Tottenham Hotspur striker scored twice after coming off the bench, with fellow substitute Shaun Wright-Phillips also finding the back of the net against the Africa Cup of Nations champions.
And Capello is more than happy be to be forced to choose who partners Wayne Rooney, with Crouch, Emile Heskey, Jermain Defoe and Carlton Cole all looking to push their claims.
“I am happy Crouch had a lot of chances. You have to choose a lot of players – it’s good,” explained Capello.
“Crouch is a big option for me because sometimes you can play long balls, but today we didn’t play long balls and he played very well, (playing with) one touch and two touches.
“This was very important because in the second half he made the difference as you take the ball and the whole of the team goes forward.”
Capello was adamant he was pleased with England’s first half performance, before revealing that a tactical tweak did the job in the second period.
“I was not angry, absolutely (not),” he said.
“In the first half we had a lot of chances but didn’t score a goal. I changed some players (at half time), but I was happy with the first half.
“We spent a lot of time in the first half trying to win back the ball. It was only this that I said to the players. We had to press more, win the ball back quickly, and in the second half we did this.”