At Wembley

Fabio Capello now has 90 minutes of action to put his final pieces in place for the World Cup - which still leaves time for an experiment that may add the extra dimension England will need in South Africa.

England's players embarked on a low-key Wembley lap of honour after an unconvincing 3-1 win against Mexico accompanied by the wholly inappropriate strains of Take That's syrupy singalong "Rule The World".

It was in keeping with the upbeat party mood Wembley seemed intent on creating for England's farewell appearance on home soil before the World Cup, but hardly an accurate forecast based on a display riddled with flaws and uncertainty.

Perspective and context are always in danger of being sacrificed amid the hysteria of a World Cup countdown. So to write off England's hopes on the basis of an unfamiliar line-up's struggles against Mexico would be as ludicrous as pronouncing them as sure-fire winners should they thrash Japan in their final warm-up game on Sunday.
It was a night when the importance of those missing, namely the Chelsea trio of John Terry, Frank Lampard and Ashley Cole - was brought into sharp focus.

And it was also a night that further exposed the folly of the infamous - and hastily ditched - "Capello Index", the coach's ill-conceived plan to provide online performance data on England's players two hours after a game.

What would the "Capello Index" have made of this? Some of England's lesser lights might have required a long lie down in a darkened room after reading the damning verdict.

But there are questions for Capello to ponder in the days before he names his final squad on 1 June - and a compelling case for the Italian to try an extra touch of tactical finesse that has been playing on his mind in recent times.

Capello worked with Steven Gerrard operating just off Wayne Rooney in England's high-altitude training camp in Austria. All the evidence suggests this is worth further investigation before the serious stuff starts in South Africa.

Peter Crouch's 21st goal in 38 England appearances strengthened his claims to partner Rooney in Capello's favoured 4-4-2 system - with Glen Johnson's superb strike completing the scoring - but a potential partnership between Rooney and Gerrard has rich possibilities.

Gerrard's deployment on the left contributed to a horribly imbalanced England midfield in the first 45 minutes against Mexico. The Liverpool captain's almost gravitational pull into the middle left Leighton Baines exposed and highlighted the shortcomings of the central midfield partnership of James Milner and Michael Carrick.

Once Gerrard exchanged places with Milner, England at least had more control over proceedings thanks to a more authoratitive figure at the heart of affairs.

Capello's recent selections have hinted he is at last prepared to contemplate life without Emile Heskey as Rooney's natural partner. And Rooney's development into an outstanding lone striker at Manchester United gives Capello and England extra strings to their bow. They should be utilised.

The Italian publicly stated recently he would always play with two strikers, but Capello has shown his willingness to be flexible by tempting Jamie Carragher out of England exile and retaining faith in Ledley King despite his many injuries - so why not bend tactically?

Gerrard's superior work from central positions means Capello should at least consider the bolder option of using him in support of Rooney, although much of this depends on Gareth Barry's latest fitness update on Tuesday.

If Barry is fit, Capello could partner him with Frank Lampard in the centre and use Milner on the left with either Aaron Lennon or Theo Walcott on the right. If Barry is not fit - and he has become central to Capello's thinking even after a subdued season at Manchester City - then there may be a vital vacancy in central midfield.

Michael Carrick's decline at Manchester United has been stark, so it came as no surprise to see him perform so poorly against Mexico. A player who prided himself on his ability to keep possession was too careless, conceding in dangerous positions on a night when he did his World Cup aspirations no good.

Tom Huddlestone breezed through his substitute's appearance in laid-back fashion, and Capello may be tempted to give a final audition to the urgency and competitive instinct of Scott Parker against Japan.

If Barry's injury rules him out, it is all up for grabs and Parker ended the season in outstanding form for West Ham United.

If the problems in midfield were obvious, then Mexico's ability to unlock England's defence with monotonous regularity, particularly in the first half, will have pained Capello even more.

This is where context comes in and perspective must be applied - yes it was a disappointing performance, but there must not be a rush to start writing England's World Cup obituaries on the evidence of a friendly.

Lampard will inject added quality and experience when he returns, while Terry and Cole will provide a more assured appearance to England's defence than it had against Mexico.

Spurs captain King had mixed fortunes on his return to the England line-up after three years. He scored the opening goal, but too often looked ponderous, easily turned and also lost his man for Mexico's goal, scored by Guillermo Franco.

King has played and trained to an unprecendented degree in recent times and looked a jaded figure in defensive situations. Whether Capello sees this as terminal when it comes to World Cup selection remains to be seen, but he will miss out against Japan.

If Terry is certain to return alongside Rio Ferdinand, who also disappointed on Monday, then Cole is effectively irreplaceable at left-back given the performance of Everton's Baines.

Capello's decision to give Baines the full game suggests he has settled on him as Cole's understudy, but a player who is impeccable at club level was so poor that Aston Villa's Stephen Warnock may yet get the chance to make a late dash for South Africa.

England's lack of balance did not help Baines, but he had a torrid night at the hands of the pace and intelligence of the Mexicans. He is better than he showed against Mexico, but the international arena is unforgiving. Failings are brutally exposed.

Capello was typically deadpan afterwards, but gave some of the game away when he opened with: "I'm happy for the result." The pointed pause, left for others to fill in the blanks, was telling.

One week remains before England's plane leaves London for South Africa. If Capello had a hunch about a potential partnership between Rooney and Gerrard, now is the time to act upon it.

Source :http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/philmcnulty/2010/05/capello_must_try.html

Johannesburg and London (CNN) -- With most Africans unlikely to take part in the continent's first World Cup, soccer's governing body FIFA is hoping that mobile-phone television coverage can extend the showpiece tournament's audience.

Fewer than 40,000 of the total three million tickets available have been sold to Africans outside the host nation, despite the region's qualified nations Nigeria, Ghana, Cameroon and Algeria having a combined population of more than 225 million.

South Africa's Tourism Minister Martinus van Schalkwyk revealed last week that only 11,300 visitors from Africa are expected, compared to 230,000 from overseas.

One significant factor is ticket prices. While South Africans have been offered reduced deals as low as $15, other people on the world's poorest continent must pay the standard prices from $80 upwards.

Travel is also a problem. Flights are unaffordable for most Africans, while the vast distances involved through difficult and often dangerous terrain make road travel a major mission -- it is 5,000 miles (8,000 kilometers) from Algiers in the north to Cape Town.

Add to that the high cost of tourist accommodation in South Africa, and it becomes obvious why the June 11-July 11 tournament will not be truly "Africa's World Cup" as FIFA had first intended.

FIFA has pulled in $3.2 billion in revenue for the 2010 World Cup, much of that through television rights, and is hoping that Africans will continue their ever-increasing love of mobile technology by watching the World Cup on that platform.

While the Internet has proved less accessible and affordable for Africans, mobile phones have taken off in a big way. A United Nations report released last year showed that mobile subscriptions in Africa rose from 54 million to almost 350 million between 2003 and 2008.

"It's an important complement to the main TV screen," FIFA's Niclas Jensen told CNN. "It's important for us to be there. It would be foolish to say that we do not need to service that medium because then we will lose people who will watch our games.

"The media companies are integrating in all platforms, so most media companies expect us to have it."

African pay TV giant MultiChoice is one of the companies preparing to offer mobile TV during the World Cup. It has launched the service in Kenya, Nigeria, Ghana and Namibia through its subsidiary DSTV Mobile.

However, its plans for launch in South Africa were hit last Friday after it missed the application deadline for a licence and was disqualified by telecoms regulator ICASA.

E.tv was the only provider to receive a licence, with the South African Mobile TV Consortium -- which had objected to the May 7 application deadline -- also missing out.

"I think in Africa, mobile TV has a better chance of succeeding than in first-world countries," DSTV Mobile chief executive Francois Theron told CNN before the ruling was announced.

"A lot of the matches will be broadcast while people are commuting from work back home, and in countries like Lagos and Kenya and those places you will find that they are commuting for three or four hours, so it's an ideal tool to have while you are sitting in the traffic waiting for the time to pass.

"Eventually, these kinds of phones, we believe Nokia will bring the price down to below $100 over time."

However, research group World Wide Worx says only one percent of the African market is interested in mobile TV.

"There was a massive campaign to market mobile TV in South Africa for the 2006 World Cup in Germany and it fell completely flat," the group's head Arthur Goldstuck told CNN.

"It's very uncomfortable to view TV on a cell phone screen. It simply doesn't make sense for a sporting event where the ball, for example, will completely disappear."

The issuing of licences to operators in South Africa has been a long process, CNN's Nkepile Mabuse reports.

"In 2008 I remember the former communications minister saying licences would be issued that year," she said.

ICASA chairman Paris Mashile told CNN that there had been mitigating factors for the delay.

"If you look at the steps and processes that have got to be taken, you've got to take that into consideration," he said.

"With stakeholders asking for an extension of period to consider our proposals, and participating deliberation and consultation processes, these things take time and you've got to accommodate all the people."

Meanwhile, FIFA has revealed that South Africans have bought more than 1.25 million tickets for the World Cup.

The United States had the next highest sales with about 135,000 and the United Kingdom -- from which only England has qualified -- was next with just under 100,000.

Germans had bought around 41,000 tickets, just ahead of Australia, while Mexico was next on 35,000.

Argentina was seventh with more than 22,000 ahead of Japan (21,455), the Netherlands (20,284), five-times champions Brazil (19,238), Canada (17,482) and Switzerland (16,202).

The Nerazzurri take on the German giants on Saturday in the stadium where Mourinho is widely believed to be moving to next season, Real Madrid's Santiago Bernabeu.

Mourinho guided his side to their fifth straight Serie A title on Sunday and they can complete a glorious treble by defeating Bayern in the Spanish capital.

Inter have also taken the Coppa Italia this campaign and Mourinho is content with his achievements.

But his dislike of Italian football has led to widespread reports he will swtich to Real - although he refused to entertain any speculation over his future before Saturday's showdown.

Personal satisfaction

Mourinho said: "It's not a problem of contract or money and that makes me slightly embarrassed because of what I earn considering the (world economic) crisis there is.

"It's a problem of personal satisfaction, to feel respected or not in a football nation where I have had so many problems.

"It's not true that I'm the Real coach. After the final, I want to think about my future."

The former Chelsea boss explained his relationship with football in Italy broke down after he felt disrespected in spite of his achievements.

Mourinho won the Scudetto last season and his accomplishments have made him hot favourite to turn the fortunes of Madrid around, who have floundered in the shadow of La Liga rivals Barcelona.

Given everything

And the 47-year-old feels he has "given everything" to the club's cause - regardless of whether he takes home European football's biggest prize.

He added: "Obviously, Inter cannot do anything more to make me feel happy and feel important. The players are fantastic, so are the fans and everyone at the club.

"The result of Saturday's game means nothing. It will not change the fact that I have given everything possible.

"Inter doesn't owe me anything and I owe nothing to Inter, because I've given everything."

Despite dismissing suggestions winning the treble wouldn't affect his decision, Mourinho's captain Javier Zanetti believes victory would convince his boss to contemplate staying put.

The 36-year-old said his team-mates were desperate to see off Louis van Gaal's team in the hope Mourinho will still be their manager next season.

He said: "These rumours don't affect us, the boss has been clear, he will talk after the final. But we want to win it also to try convince him to stay with us."

Midfielder Dejan Stankovic echoed his skipper, adding: "We believe in Mourinho and I hope he stays. He's someone who makes a difference."