• 'Jagielka is fit, he trained well,' says Fabio Capello
• Italian says door is still open for David Beckham to return

Fabio Capello has said he is not concerned about the injuries which have hit the England squad before tomorrow's Euro 2012 qualifier against Bulgaria. The Italian is facing a minor crisis in defence with Rio Ferdinand and John Terry injured and Phil Jagielka suffering from an ankle injury picked up against Aston Villa at the weekend.

However, Capello said today that the Everton defender looked on course to start the game, probably with Matthew Upson in central defence.

"The training was really good, the players are OK and some problems we had in the last two days are getting better," he said. "[Jagielka] is fit, he trained well, there is a little bit of pain but I think for tomorrow he will be 100%.

"I'm not concerned but I know that the central defenders will play for the first time together tomorrow. I hope they will be really focusing every moment of the game and I hope [Ashley] Cole and [Glen] Johnson will help these two players, and also the midfield."

Capello said he is close to finalising his starting XI: "The keeper, [Joe] Hart, [Wayne] Rooney, Steve [Gerrard], [Gareth] Barry, [Ashley] Cole, [Glen] Johnson, Jagielka, more or less. I know 10 or 11, with a little doubt about one."

The players are desperate to make amends for a poor World Cup and Capello is confident England will regain the form which saw them qualify for the tournament with nine wins from 10 games.

"It's part of a manager's job," Capello said of the pressures facing him. "When you win, you're the best. When you lose, you're the worst."

And the Italian admitted he had changed his approach since South Africa. "I learn something after a new experience," he said. "I changed something, but not a lot. We have to play without fear. I thought the players trained very well, with confidence, and I hope tomorrow we can see the same during the game.

"Bulgaria will not be an easy game to play, they are really good technically, they defend with nine players – one forward – and they play on the counter, really fast. Their quality is good but we have to win, we have to play well, and I hope also the fans will support us during the game."

Asked about his plans for the former England captain David Beckham, who missed the World Cup, Capello said: "The door is open for all the players, always. I prefer at this moment to choose young players."

Capello said he was also encouraged by Rooney's return to goalscoring form. The Manchester United forward ended a five-month wait for a goal when he converted a penalty against West Ham United last weekend, and the Italian was glad to see him on the scoresheet.

"I monitored him during the last game that he played against West Ham," said Capello. "He's good, he's back and I'm happy because he scored a goal. Rooney runs a lot around the pitch, he's free to move where he decides to go. Rooney will play tomorrow in style."

• Steven Gerrard and Ashley Cole also win Fifa plaudits
• One nominee apiece from underachieving France and Italy

The England World Cup squad returned from their dismal campaign in South Africa to headlines damning a performance in which they displayed "no spark, no spirit, no hope". Wayne Rooney, the Footballer of the Year, had become a "flop" and a truculent one at that, swearing at fans who booed the team off the park following their draw with Algeria at Green Point Stadium, or the "cape of no hope" as the Sun put it.

But today the revisionist view was put forward by no less an authority than Fifa's 16-man technical study group, which included the former France and Liverpool manager Gérard Houllier and the former Scotland manager Andy Roxburgh. Their report said England had in fact been a team with "strong, hard-working players" whose "aerial strength [was] used effectively at set pieces in defence", and they singled out Rooney for praise as a "hard-working, energetic striker; [who] worked hard for the team; good technique" and nominated the goalless centre-forward as one of England's three players of the tournament.

Yet in July, Houllier placed the blame for England's failure firmly at Rooney's door. "The key to understanding why England didn't perform at the World Cup is that the top players didn't do as well as we could expect them to," he said. "I'm thinking mainly about Wayne Rooney."

Houllier's Anfield past may shed some light on the report's acclaim for Steven Gerrard whose tournament started so brightly with his fourth-minute goal against the USA but faded into a series of aimless long-shots and positional incoherence during the 4-1 defeat by Germany.

The England captain was, the report maintains,, the team's most influential player, "a dynamic midfielder with good vision and technique, who linked defence and attack". England's "effective use of full-backs" impressed the group and earned Ashley Cole the final place among the team's three "outstanding players".

Fifa's assessment of the side will raise eyebrows with the long-suffering England faithful – although few could argue with the football governing body's assessment of Spain. The winners were "a complete team, arguably contenders for team of the century", proving the group had not completely lost their minds. But praising England's energy and industry does seem the equivalent of awarding an A for effort to the dullest member of the class. Either that or the report's authors have promising futures as alchemists, having just turned the basest of metals into gold.

• Steven Naismith replaces the Birmingham City striker
• Craig Levein makes eight changes to side beaten in Sweden

James McFadden is the most notable player to pay the penalty for Scotland's dismal friendly showing in Sweden last month, with the Birmingham City man dropped for tomorrow night's Euro 2012 qualifier in Lithuania.

McFadden, an iconic figure for the Scottish support on account of his 15 goals in 46 internationals, has been left out by Craig Levein with the Rangers forward Steven Naismith a surprise starter in support of Kenny Miller, the lone striker. Naismith has opened the season brightly, but has featured just three times before for his country.

David Weir will, as expected, partner Stephen McManus at the heart of the Scotland defence. Alan Hutton's swift return from groin surgery also hands him a place in Levein's starting XI.

Middlesbrough's Barry Robson has been preferred to Graham Dorrans on the left of Levein's midfield. In total, Levein has made eight changes to the side beaten 3-0 in Stockholm.

• Benjani Mwaruwari says there is 'no trust' at Manchester City
• Blackburn Rovers striker says: 'Money is not everything'

The Blackburn Rovers striker Benjani Mwaruwari claims there is "no trust" at his old club Manchester City and that some of their players are motivated primarily by money.

The Zimbabwe international agreed a deal with Rovers last week having been released earlier this summer by City, where he had spent a largely unsuccessful two and a half year stint.

With a raft of expensive new players arriving at Eastlands after he was signed in 2008 by Sven-Goran Eriksson, Benjani, whose time with City was marred by injury, was deemed surplus to requirements by the club's current manager Roberto Mancini.

The 32-year-old forward has now proven his fitness sufficiently to win himself a contract at Ewood Park and while expressing his delight at earning another chance to play in the Premier League, Benjani has also taken the opportunity to fire a parting shot at his former employers.

Asked what it was like to be at City when they were spending so much money, Benjani said: "It sounds great, but in football money is not everything. What is needed is people who can hang around and love you to be there.

"Sometimes you are loved to be there because of money, which is not good. I would prefer to be here without having all those facilities, be happy and trust everyone around you."

Asked if he thought some players at City were interested in money more than anything else, Benjani said: "Yes, it seemed like that and behind the scenes, there is no trust. I would prefer to play for a club where you are being trusted and you trust everyone around you."

Land ahoy everyone! James Richardson is back for another stint at the helm of the good ship Football Weekly Extra, where he's joined by Sean Ingle, Paul Doyle and Paul MacInnes.

Topics up for discussion include the big last-minute transfers across Europe – including just how Milan were able to sign Robinho and Zlatan Ibrahimovic a week after relying on Genoa to help them bring in Kevin-Prince Boateng. Meanwhile Sid Lowe joins us from a metro station in Madrid to tell us how Rafael van der Vaart moving to Spurs has gone down in the Spanish capital.

We assess England's chances ahead of tomorrow's game against Bulgaria, look at Laurent Blanc's new-look France and give a nod to Non-League day.

Have a listen and post your feedback below. We're also on iTunes, Facebook and Twitter, and if you enjoy this type of thing, get your daily dose of football with our tea-time email, The Fiver.

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