Capello slams Wembley crowd for booing Cole

England manager Fabio Capello condemned the Wembley crowd for booing Ashley Cole on Saturday after the Chelsea defender's howler presented Kazakhstan their goal in a 5-1 World Cup qualifying victory for the home side.

Last week, Capello had appealed to the crowd to be patient and show support after previously saying that England's players preferred playing away from home because of the pressure they felt at Wembley.

The near-90,000 crowd initially followed instructions despite a goalless first half but Cole became the pantomime villain when his aimless looped pass across goal allowed Zhambyl Kukeyev to give the visitors something to shout about.

"I didn't understand the crowd booing Ashley Cole after he made a mistake," Capello said.

"It's always possible for one player to make a mistake and at that moment it's important for the crowd to help him, not boo him."

Capello admitted that his 4-3-3 system with Rooney forced wide on the left did not work well in the first half and said he brought on Shaun Wright-Phillips to add some width.

"After that things went well," he said after two Rooney strikes, an own goal and one each for Jermain Defoe and Rio Ferdinand secured a third successive win.

"Wright-Phillips brought some speed and he did everything very well. With Rooney nearer to Heskey he played very well."