Thaindian News

London, Jun 25 (ANI): England boss Fabio Capello wants his players to make history when they face Germany on Sunday, as the Three Lions have not beaten a major nation in the knockout stages of the World Cup since Bobby Moore lifted the trophy following a 4-2 win against the Germans in 1966.

You have a nation behind you. You don’t have the right to let them down. I am responsible for getting that message to my players. They have to understand what it means to wear the jersey with the Three Lions on it,” Capello said.

“I demand respect for the colours. I want my group to be a part of the history of their national team. I want the players to be the worthy heirs,” The Sun quoted him, as saying.

A 1-0 win over Slovenia prevented England from making an early exit and set up the last-16 showdown with Germany in Bloemfontein.

Capello said England overcame their mental frailties on Wednesday and are now ready to face their archrivals.

“I think I know these players, they needed this victory and I needed it. They can play against all the teams and I’m sure the performance of the team will always be at this level, with this spirit. This will be important,” he said.

Capello admitted he went through agony during the last few minutes of the Slovenia clash as England held on to their slender lead.

“I suffered until the last minute, it wasn’t good for my heart in the last few minutes but it’s really important that we created the chances. Against the USA we created a lot and scored one. Here, again, we created a lot and scored one,” he said. (ANI)