Distant, out of touch and doubting his squad was his undoing, writes <b>Richard Williams</b>.

England finally found their fighting spirit and along with it a place in the second round with a battling 1-0 win over feisty Slovenia on Wednesday.

England versus the US — allegedly the Soccer World Cup match most under threat of a jihadi attack — only exploded in the second half.

English fans were gearing up on Saturday for their match with Soccer World Cup underdogs America in Rustenburg.

With both teams top of their Cup qualifying groups, Wednesday night’s Germany-England friendly is a chance to put some new talent in the spotlight.

Rio Ferdinand has described the ”Wag” (wives and girlfriends) culture that surrounded England in the days before Fabio Capello as a ”circus”.

Coach Fabio Capello must rejig his defence as England head to Belarus for Wednesday’s World Cup qualifier, while Germany fret over Michael Ballack.

Teenager Theo Walcott scored a hat-trick as England beat Croatia 4-1 on Wednesday to avenge the two defeats that cost them a place at Euro 2008.

The ghosts of the recent past will haunt France and England as the former world champions embark on crucial midweek 2010 World Cup qualifiers.

Michael Owen was the major omission from the England squad that plays opening World Cup qualifiers against Andorra and Croatia later this month.

John Terry of Chelsea was named as England’s permanent captain by coach Fabio Capello at a news conference on Tuesday.