Capello hails his new England

Manager Fabio Capello might not want to change the world - but he does think he has a new England to take into UEFA EURO 2012. Just as he promised, Capello used a November friendly double-header to expose some of the Premier League's rising stars to international combat. At the end of the experiment, the Italian could not have been more pleased with the outcome. Suddenly, the options he has at his disposal for next summer's European Championships have swollen beyond the 30 mark. Some, like Phil Jones, are nailed on, others have work to do after a promising start, Jack Rodwell and Kyle Walker fall into that category. There is also a third tier, Daniel Sturridge possibly, of those who evidently have talent and a big future, but may find this opportunity have come too early. Either way, Capello is set to be making some very tough calls when he announces his final 23 next June. "Yes. It is (a new England). It is something new and very interesting," he said. "At the World Cup we had the old players with experience. Now we have young players, who by the time we play in the Euros will be better than they are now. They can improve because they are young. They will get more experience. They will play Champions League and in more important games." Lest it be forgotten, by the time he reached the 2010 FIFA World Cup™, having lost just one game in qualifying, Capello ripped up his masterplan and went cap in hand to Jamie Carragher and Paul Scholes so sure was he the players available lacked the necessary class. The entire tournament unravelled from an English perspective, the depressing hammering by a rejuvenated Germany providing a fitting epitaph. Now it is England who are following their old rivals' lead, shedding a couple of layers to unveil players of genuine promise. And of those, none is showing more signs of having the ability Capello so obviously felt was missing last time round than Phil Jones. Centre-half by preference, Jones is yet to play there for his country. Instead, he made his debut at right-back in Montenegro last month, occupied an advanced midfield role in Saturday's win over Spain, then slotted into the holding position Scott Parker has excelled in during last night's 1-0 triumph against Sweden. The highlight was the surge into the visitors' box that came so close to ending in a brilliant goal. "It is really difficult to find a player like him," said Capello. "In my career, I have only found two players who could do it, Franco Baresi and Fernando Hierro, and they were pretty good. "He can play in these different positions, but always at the top level. When he receives the ball he always plays without fear. Good passes, good solutions. Every time the best solution. "It was a really important test for him because now I know if Scott Parker will not be fit I have a solution. He is a talent." I hope by the end of the season it will be tough for me to choose the best 23. Fabio Capello Now Capello must wait. First for the finals draw in Kiev on 2 December, then Wayne Rooney's appeal in Nyon a week later, when it is hoped his three-match suspension can be reduced to two, before he gets his players together again for a friendly on 29 February. It is still to be decided whether Rooney, or Capello, will appear in person. As luck would have it, United are in Switzerland on the previous Wednesday, for a UEFA Champions League encounter with Basle. It is difficult to see Sir Alex Ferguson being willing to let his player return to attend a disciplinary hearing on the Friday though given United have a Premier League game with Wolves at Old Trafford the following day. With the seedings now confirmed, England will take on the Netherlands, if they do not find themselves in the same group as the 2010 FIFA World Cup runners-up, in their final mid-season friendly. It promises to be a very useful test, although uppermost in Capello's mind will be the state of his players, having noticed in March before the FIFA World Cup that they were already starting to flag badly. The key difference this time is that they may have the numbers to cope. "I have got a lot of players," said Capello. "I hope by the end of the season it will be tough for me to choose the best 23. Better to have this problem than no players. But I am not thinking about my squad for next summer because I have another six months to decide, so we need to wait."