England coach Fabio Capello reiterated that caps won’t be handed out lightly after reporters questioned him on the omission of longtime England regulars David Beckham and Michael Owen from Wednesday night’s 2-1 victory over Switzerland at Wembley. England prevailed against Switzerland after a nervy opening half hour during which England’s fans booed the team and chanted, “one David Beckham.” However, sparkling performances from David Bentley and, later, Shaun Wright-Philips justified Capello’s decision to play them instead of the former England captain.
“The chants [for Beckham] do not influence me at all,” the Italian said. “I’m happy for the fans to chant David Beckham’s name. He’s a very good player and I know him very well … but the things I do are nothing to do with my personal feelings about a player. I do what is best for the team. I believe in order to play for England you need to be a great player, but you need to be playing well as well.”
Michael Owen, meanwhile, remained on the bench throughout the match for the first time since Howard Wilkinson took charge of a World Cup qualifier in 2000. “I think about the substitutions according to what happens on the pitch,” Capello said. ” So if people perform the way I want them, they’ll stay on the pitch … they are all equal.