Capello rules out Almunia England call
FABIO CAPELLO last night dismissed speculation that Manuel Almunia will be drafted in to ease England’s goalkeeper crisis.
With first-choice David James ruled out through injury and Ben Foster withdrawing with a knee problem, reports resurfaced once again linking the Spanish-born Arsenal shot-stopper with an unlikely call-up.
Almunia, 32, is now eligible to play for England under FIFA’s residency rules having lived in the country for five years.
But no matter how serious the injury crisis becomes in a World Cup year, Italian boss Capello insists calling upon Almunia is not an option.
“Almunia, for me, is Spanish,” the England boss said ahead of tonight’s friendly with Holland in Amsterdam. “He is Spanish and he plays for the Arsenal team.”
With James and Foster on the sidelines, Capello looks certain to keep faith with West Ham’s Robert Green between the sticks at the Amsterdam Arena, with Paul Robinson and late call-up Joe Hart as understudies.
Both teams have claimed seven successive victories in their World Cup qualifying campaigns so far, although Holland, unlike England, have already booked their place in South Africa.
Capello learned a lot from his last defeat as England boss, against Spain back in February, and is taking nothing for granted against the team ranked third in the world. “Holland do not have the same quality as Spain but they have had some really good results, so it is a really important test,” Capello added. “It gives us an opportunity to understand what we will have to do if we play against a team with the same style in South Africa.”
Capello’s sentiments are shared by captain John Terry, who realises the importance of this friendly ahead of a long, hard season. “This is a chance to cement our places,” the Chelsea skipper said. “We had a good year and the manager has stressed that he wants us to immediately start from where we left off. That is what we aim to do but it will be a tough test against a very good side.”