Fabio Capello Defends Gerrard Decision

Fabio Capello has defended his decision to keep Steven Gerrard on the pitch until the eighty fifth minute of last night's friendly with France.

Gerrard was one of just two, the other being Rio Ferdinand, experienced players who made the starting line-up as Capello experimented with a younger side.

But the Liverpool captain limped off the field with five minutes of the match to go with an injury, a move that was criticised by the Liverpool fitness coach, as England lost 1-2.

Speaking to the BBC Capello said: "I told Liverpool he would play for an hour if possible.

"With Gareth Barry and Rio Ferdinand's injuries we needed a senior player on the pitch. I'm upset about Gerrard."

"They asked that he can play one hour if it's possible. They can't decide how long a player plays with the national team. If it's possible, he'd have played an hour.

"I understand why they're upset and I'm also upset. The problem is that, when you play this game on Wednesday after a lot of Premier League, Europa League or Champions League games, it's possible there might be an injury for a player.

"The Premier League, every time, is a tough league for the players."

It took just sixteen minutes for France to find the back of the net as Karim Benzema struck in a dominant French performance, a far cry from the shambles at the World Cup.

Mathieu Valbuena made it 2-0 ten minutes into the second half. Peter Crouch got a consolation goal for England when he came on as a substitute in the eighty fifth minute, replacing the injured Gerrard.

FemaleFirst Helen Earnshaw