Confidence the key for new look England

By Kevin Fylan

BERLIN (Reuters) - Confidence was the key to England's 2-1 victory over Germany on Wednesday, coach Fabio Capello said.

"I think when I started my job I said we have to recover our confidence," Capello told reporters after John Terry's 84th minute header gave injury-hit England a deserved win in a friendly international at the Olympiastadion.

"The players understand this and we saw it during the game, and before that during training."

England dominated the first half against their old rivals, taking the lead through a scrappy Matthew Upson effort.

They conceded a silly equaliser to Patrick Helmes, after a mix-up between Terry and substitute keeper Scott Carson, before the captain made amends with his late winner.

"Today I saw another step forward," said Capello, who was missing experienced players like Steven Gerrard, Wayne Rooney, Frank Lampard, David Beckham and Rio Ferdinand.

"I don't have a message (for those players)" he added. "I think they are very happy because we won here."

Midfielder Michael Carrick highlighted the achievement of winning in Berlin without so many big players.