Honeymoon over for Capello

After five friendly internationals to try and settle a side and find the ideal captain, England coach Fabio Capello will enter further into the thick of things this month as his team will be involved in two international qualifiers for the 2010 World Cup.

Capello took seven months to name his new skipper after making use of five England players to lead the team.

These were Steven Gerrard, Rio Ferdinand, John Terry, David Beckham and Gareth Barry. Finally, he decided on Terry to wear the armband.

From the five friendlies played, England lost once, when they played in Paris against France 0-1 last March. On that occasion, David Beckham made his 100th appearance.

England play Andorra away today and will be less the injured Owen Hargreaves and Michael Carrick, both of Manchester United, and Liverpool's Gerrard.

To compensate for these drop-outs, Capello has called up Fulham midfielder Jimmy Bullard for the first time.

The Italian coach has left out Michael Owen, who is still not fully fit.

Former England striker Alan Shearer said this week that he was shocked to hear that Owen was left out of the squad. Shearer reckoned Owen was fit enough to sit on the subs bench at least and do a good job for Capello and the national team.

In his 23-man squad, Capello picked Wayne Rooney, Jermaine Defoe, Emile Heskey and Theo Walcott to play up front.

Capello remarked that the biggest challenge for him was to get individuals play for England like they do for their clubs.

In addition, Capello said that there was a lack of confidence among players and a lot of pressure when they play for their country. Yet, the coach added that England players have a reputation for a great work ethic and from what he had seen so far he was impressed with their level of skill and technique.

This evening, England should find it easy-going at Barcelona's Olympic Stadium in their clash with minnows Andorra. This will be the third time England will play the Andorrans:

September 2, 2006 at Old Trafford (Euro Championship qualifier): 5-0 Crouch 2, Defoe 2, Gerrard. Peter Crouch scored his ninth and 10th goals in his 13th appearance.

March 28, 2007 at Barcelona (return match): 3-0 Gerrard 2, Nugent. David Nugent netted on his debut for England.

Next Wednesday, England face Euro 2008 quarter-finalists Croatia in Zagreb.

This will be the sixth clash with the Croats, who beat the English in their last two matches:

November 21, 2007 at Wembley (Euro Championship qualifier): 2-3 Lampard pen, Crouch. This defeat signalled the elimination from the finals.

October 11, 2006 in Zagreb (return tie): 0-2. First defeat for Steve McClaren in his fifth outing for England.

June 21, 2004 in Lisbon (Euro Championship finals): 4-2 Scholes, Rooney 2, Lampard. One of the finest episodes in England's history with Rooney at his best. This victory put England into the last eight.

August 20, 2003 in Ipswich (Friendly): 3-1. Beckham pen, Owen, Lampard. England claim their sixth successive win under Sven-Goran Eriksson. This run goes to eight matches as the Swede's side established a post-war international record.

April 24, 1996 at Wembley (Friendly): 0-0. Terry Venables's 16th international as England coach.

29-man team

Capello has now used 29 players - two goalkeepers, ten defenders, ten midfielders and seven attackers.

Player call-ups (respective clubs as they stand now) are classified thus:

Goalkeepers: David James (Portsmouth), Joe Hart (Manchester City).

Defenders: Wes Brown (Manchester United), Rio Ferdinand (Manchester United), Matthew Upson (West Ham), Ashley Cole (Chelsea), Wayne Bridge (Chelsea), Glen Johnson (Portsmouth), John Terry (Chelsea), Joleon Lescott (Everton), Steven Warnock (Blackburn), Jonathan Woodgate (Tottenham).

Midfielders: David Bentley (Tottenham), Jermaine Jenas (Tottenham), Shaun Wright-Phillips (Manchester City), Steven Gerrard (Liverpool), Gareth Barry (Aston Villa), Owen Hargreaves (Manchester United), Joe Cole (Chelsea), Ashley Young (Aston Villa), Stewart Downing (Middlesbrough), Phil Jagielka (Everton).

Forwards: Peter Crouch (Portsmouth), Wayne Rooney (Manchester United), Michael Owen (Newcastle), Dean Ashton (West Ham), Theo Walcott (Arsenal), Jermaine Defoe (Portsmouth), Emile Heskey (Wigan).

The players to earn their first cap under Capello are Dean Ashton, Joe Hart, Phil Jagielka and Steven Warnock.