Capello takes positives from poor England show

By Mike Collett

LONDON (Reuters) - England coach Fabio Capello said after his out-played England team scrambled a 2-2 draw against Czech Republic on Wednesday he was still able to take plenty of positives from the game.

Although admitting England had a problem dealing with the Czechs' swift counter-attacking moves, the Italian said: "I think we are ready for the World Cup qualifiers.

"I think we did well in the first half and put Petr Cech under a lot of pressure. He was their best player and made three good saves."

Capello also said he was pleased with the way that Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard and a deep-lying Wayne Rooney played together and that overall he was happy with the performance.

"The Czechs are a very good team which is why I wanted to play them, they are not easy to beat.

"But we created chances, especially in the first half and played well. But we suffered when they counter-attacked and this is a problem we must work on."

For most of the match England did not look recognisably different from the lacklustre side that failed to qualify for the Euro 2008 finals under former boss Steve McClaren, but Capello said: "I can see progression. I think we are moving forward."

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