England: Rooney will produce the goods, Capello

Fabio Capello is expecting Wayne Rooney to finally show his true capabilities in England's make or break World Cup clash with Slovenia in Port Elizabeth tomorrow.

Rooney has looked a shadow of the player who scored more than 30 goals for Manchester United last season in the opening two games with the United States and Algeria.

He will go into the Slovenia clash still looking for his first goal in the World Cup finals after drawing a blank in six games spanning 2006 and the current tournament.

But Capello is adamant the 24-year-old will produce in a game England need to win to guarantee a place in the last 16.

He said: "I have spoken a lot of times with Rooney and he is an important player for us.

"Like Steven (Gerrard), he is one of the best players in the world.

"Sometimes the pressure is so big for all the important players.

"Wayne has improved the last two days during training and I am sure tomorrow he will play really well."

Rooney has scored 25 times for his country but only once in the last nine games - against Croatia at Wembley last October.

The England coach insisted all the pre-match publicity surrounding John Terry was now forgotten with all thoughts trained on overcoming Slovenia.

Terry intimated the players would speak to Capello about tactics and team personnel although these topics were not brought up at a meeting with the Italian.

Capello did concede that he may have made mistakes, although he did not elaborate on what they might be.

He said: "We trained very well today, compact, we know the game tomorrow will be really important, not what one player can speak about. We are really focused on the game.

"John Terry is one of the most important players. It is a really important game.

"Everything else is out of the mind of the players, out of my mind. I am happy because the players are really focused on the game.

"The relationship with the players is really good. The players are happy, training very well.

"If you win, sometimes we make mistakes but we win. It is possible I have made mistakes, possibly."

Capello is used to handling pressure during his glittering managerial career but knows this is a new experience for himself.

He said: "There are others that remind me of this one in terms of being important but those were club games.

"This is the country game. This is different because everyone is behind us.

"It is normal to have the pressure. We are ready to play and also the players know there has to be only one result for us."

Capello knows England have to raise their game especially as he feels Slovenia may try to wind down the clock as a draw will be sufficient to ensure their place in the next round.

He said: "I think we have to improve if we want to win. I want to see the fight every moment, that we win back the ball quickly.

"It is possible tomorrow Slovenia may try to lose time when they have possession. For this reason, we have to press more."

England were unable to train on the pitch in Port Elizabeth because of its poor condition and were put through their paces at their Rustenburg base before flying to the venue.

Capello said : "The pitch is not good. This is not an excuse for the game tomorrow."