Capello looks ahead

After naming the England squad for a second time, with France the opponents this time around, Fabio Capello gave his views on the players he had selected and what he hopes to achieve next week and also in the future.

Capello said that he had called David Beckham into the squad because he believed he could give something to the squad now he was fit and playing matches.

Capello said: "In the previous match I did not call him up because he was not fit having not played any games. He is now fit.

"When David is fit he can always bring an important contribution because of his vision on the pitch and the fact he can cross the ball and always create chances. Not only from free-kicks.

"It's not my style to call someone up to do them a favour. I will call players in that I believe are useful to the team and with a view on future games and what I need to do in the future. I called him up because I believe he is going to be useful to the team."

Capello also believed that Beckham remained a good player regardless of the country he played in.

"Good players are good players whether they play in America, England or in Spain," Capello explained. "On top of that I believe that David Beckham is probably more fresh than other players at the moment having just started his season.

"He only trained before but now he has played some games. We have time to watch him in training. The important thing at the moment is that he is available and fit. And more importantly he declared himself fit and available for England."

Capello also spoke of the challenge that faces him as England Manager, but repeated that it is something that fills him with anticipation.

"It is my challenge, but it is a challenge we need to meet together, the players and I," Capello explained.

"This is the job I have set out to achieve, and I have five friendly games at my disposal before the competitive games.

"This is a challenge, as for every challenge in order to reach your targets you need to understand where you are going to operate when you need to work. At the moment I am working towards understanding what needs to be done. Also gathering information on where I can work in order to avoid making the same mistakes that were made before."

On the subject of the England captain, Capello would not say who would lead the side against France and repeated that he would decide on a permanent skipper prior to the World Cup qualifiers starting in September.

Capello said: "I have two or three ideas, I will decide before the game (with France). I have already said that the permanent captain will be decided before the World Cup qualifiers."

Capello says that it is crucial to have more than just good players for a team to be successful.

He said: "Having world-class players is not enough if you don't have a winning mentality, a team or group mentality.

"There are obviously important players, but wherever I have worked so far, if you need to build a house you start with what you have and capitalise on that. The important thing is that we need to bring back self-confidence and the right mentality in order to do good things."

Capello was pleased that Michael Owen is scoring again, and had positive things to say about Joe Cole's performance for Chelsea at White Hart Lane

Speaking about Owen he said: "I saw him play in the last game (against Birmingham) and he is fitter and more alive, better physically, so I'm happier.

"Obviously form is not always constant throughout the season, there were players who were more in form before the Switzerland game and players that are more in form now. I think it is a normal situation. Joe Cole played a fantastic game against Tottenham Hotspur."