Fabio Capello Insists World Cup Door Not Closed On Joe Cole

Fabio Capello has insisted that Joe Cole still has a chance to secure a place in his World Cup squad if he performs consistently for Chelsea between now and the end of the season.

Cole, 28, has had an indifferent term so far under Carlo Ancelotti at Stamford Bridge after coming back from cruciate ligament damage in his knee.

The former West Ham child prodigy was not named in Capello's squad for Wednesday’s Wembley friendly against Egypt, raising expectations he had missed his chance to add to his 53 England caps in South Africa this summer.

But speaking at his pre-match press conference, England manager Capello said the door was not closed on the midfielder. "I saw the games he played after his injury and he played only so-so, but the last game he played very well," the Italian said. "He has to play more games like that and then he will be here, probably."

Wednesday’s match was the first for the national team since the furore over former captain John Terry's affair with the ex-girlfriend of Wayne Bridge. Terry has since been stripped of the captaincy while Bridge has ruled himself out of contention for the Three Lions while his former Chelsea team-mate is in the squad.

Moving to dismiss claims of dressing room unease over the affair, Capello said: "You have to understand that privately some players were not so good, but on the pitch it is different. We wear the England shirt and it is really important they help us every moment.

"He will be like the other players. I've spoken to him and I said 'you have to be like a leader'."

Dembele Wants Dutch Departure

Chelsea's interest in AZ Alkmaar's Moussa Dembele may have been reignited as the striker is ready to quit Holland in the summer, according to his agent.

The 22-year-old is expected to be sold at the end of the season as his contract expires in 2011 and he made no secret of his desire to leave in the winter transfer window.

Chelsea were warned by AZ that they would need to act quickly last summer if they wanted to sign Dembele, while Genoa had an offer turned down and Juventus and AC Milan were said to be monitoring the situation.

Ajax are the latest team to be linked with the Belgium international as Martin Jol is bracing himself for the probable sale of Luis Suarez, who has been linked with Sunderland this week.

But the Eredivisie side's interest has been knocked at the expense of clubs from abroad after Dembele's representative, Patrick Vervoort, told RTV Noord Holland of possible destinations: "The Dutch league is normally excluded."

Ajax are thought to be desperate to secure a replacement for Suarez as interest mounts in the 23-year-old after a dazzling season in which he has already scored 26 Eredivisie goals in 25 games.

It has been reported in the North East of England that Sunderland chief scout Ricky Sbragia is set to watch the Uruguayan in Wednesday's international friendly against Switzerland. Suarez signed a one-year contract extension in January, however, the new deal has done little to deter admirers and Sunderland boss Steve Bruce is thought to be keen to partner Suarez with Darren Bent.

Steven Gerrard: John Terry Was Superb And Great Leader Against Egypt

Stand-in captain Steven Gerrard praised the performance of John Terry during England’s 3-1 victory over Egypt, as the disgraced defender made his first appearance for the Three Lions since Fabio Capello stripped him of the armband.

“I thought he was superb tonight, John. I thought he handled everything really well and he showed he is a fantastic player and a great leader for us,” Gerrard told ITV Sport.

The Liverpool midfielder praised the visitors performance at Wembley, admitting that his side found them hard to compete against in the first half.

“You’ve got to give credit to them,” said Gerrard. "They played very well first half and the difference was we never converted the chances we had.

“We were unfortunate to come in 1-0 down but we showed good character and great togetherness to get back into the game and go on and win it.”

“I think we needed to press better together, we were a bit individual in the first half,” he explained. “We were pressing in ones and twos and they were passing it well around us.”

“We pressed a lot better in the second half and we won the ball further up in their pitch and we were more dangerous going forward.”

England Defender John Terry Hails Fans After Victory Over Egypt

England defender John Terry has applauded the Three Lions fans for the support shown during the 3-1 victory over Egypt at Wembley on Wednesday. The Chelsea captain was jeered during the early stages of the match, but the barracking died down as he went on to put in a performance worthy of manager Fabio Capello's mention.

The centre-half acknowledged the early reactions from the fans, but felt that the overall reaction was positive. "The supporters were fantastic in the way they got behind us," Terry is quoted by The Sun as saying "Obviously there were a few jeers but as a player I can handle that and they are fully entitled to their opinion.

"Whether or not I am cheered or booed it was important we got the win. "I was delighted with the response I got from all sections of the crowd. "It meant a lot to me the way we played and I thought Steve Gerrard was magnificent tonight." The ex-Three Lions captain had further words of praise for Gerrard, who was handed the armband in the absence of defender Rio Ferdinand.

Terry also hoped to keep the positive run going through to the 2010 World Cup, insisting that Capello's men have a good chance of going all the way in the showpiece event if the fans stay behind the team. "Steve played a great part with the captain's armband," he added. "And to come back from a goal down against a really good side that won the African Nations Cup was great.

"They worked really hard for each other and were great on the ball. "So what we have seen tonight is we have a real chance of going to South Africa and causing some problems in the World Cup because we are a very good side.

"We need everyone behind us, which they will be - we have the best fans in the world. "With everyone cheering all night, and us playing the way we are at the moment, it's important to we keep this run going."

Frank Lampard Wants England Boo-Boys To Leave John Terry Alone

Frank Lampard has called for the boos that greeted John Terry in the win over Egypt to stop for the sake of England's World Cup hopes.

A minority of Wembley fans jeered Terry at the start of the match, which Lampard admitted was 'half expected', but he hopes that marks the end of the dissent against his Chelsea team-mate following his recent off-field problems.

Lampard said: 'The unity in the squad is fine. We've only been together two or three days and everyone is here to concentrate on football and not concentrate on anything else.

'We've certainly done that. The manager is always very strong on that. We've trained, we've rested and there is a good spirit in the team.

'The boos for John (Terry) were half expected. It has happened before. We know it doesn't do too many favours and I hope it doesn't happen again.

'Overall It was the kind of work-out we were looking for. Egypt showed themselves to be a very capable team, very good on the ball.

That's why they are Africa Nations Cup champions. 'I think we worked hard but missed chances in the first half and, once we had got a goal back, we showed our character and quality.' Gareth Barry praised the performance of Terry and the boos turned to cheers as the match progressed.

He said: 'There is a lot of talk about other distractions which the players don't really need at this moment in time. It was good to show we are all together on the pitch and to put in a good performance.

'John is experienced and as soon as he is out there on the pitch, everything else that has gone on is all forgotten.

'In the second half, he made a couple of challenges that were cheered. 'Initially there might have been a few grumbles but the fans were brilliant and realised we need everyone behind us.'

John Terry Must Take David Beckham's Road To Redemption

The demonisation of John Terry has reached the stage where people are heckling him without knowing quite why.

Something to do with that woman and the reserve left-back. England's sacked captain was being booed by Premier League crowds long before Wayne Bridge said not-on-your-nelly to the World Cup.

What we have here is disapproval as a kind of new Mexican wave. Captain Sensible is a role Fabio Capello identified this week as one he urgently wants to see filled by the injured Rio Ferdinand and the third man down the line of illusory power, Steven Gerrard, who must have been overjoyed to be given the chance to repeat stock phrases in press conferences about responsibilities and role models.

Gerrard will hand the armband back to Ferdinand with all the reluctance of a childminder hearing a parent's ring on the bell when an upset toddler is screaming the walls down. For Terry, on the other hand, it is mortification in ribbon form, flashing around the pitch on another man's biceps.

Life would be much simpler if he could get it back and resume his East End guv'nor role. After a consoling word from Sir Dave Richards, chairman of the Premier League, Terry lined up for the ceremonials four from the end rather than in the old meet-and-greet position.

Lord Triesman, the Football Association chairman, moved to clasp his hand in upright, arm-wrestling mode, but then thought better of it, tapping Chelsea's skipper on the arm, as if His Lordship felt His Pariah's pain.

This solicitous gesture prompted the thought that Terry is close to entering the next phase of his trial by fire, when the mob stop taunting him and admire him for his resilience, his "quiet courage", as they did, in another context, with David Beckham, many months after he had been hung in effigy outside a London pub.

Beckham is easily the England centre-back's best bet for advice on cultivating an appearance of dignity and making it work in one's favour. Terry needs it, too, because the booing of his name before the kick-off was followed by persistent jeering that was dark and disdainful and took 20 minutes to subside.

A core of (Chelsea?) supporters tried to drown this hostility in cheers, which created the dissonant soundtrack of a previously admired bulldog leader being at once encouraged and condemned less than a hundred days before a World Cup.

The disconnect in Terry's brain that allows him to treat emotional turmoil as nothing more serious than an annoying squeak under the bonnet of a Bentley conceals damage below the surface.

Despite Capello's insistence that his centre-half's form is unaffected, Terry was bamboozled by Manchester City's Carlos Tevez at Stamford Bridge on Saturday and passed straight into touch on his first contact with the ball in this 3-1 victory over Egypt.

It was wishful thinking on Capello's part to believe that spending a week in Dubai with his deceived wife, having the England captaincy taken off him inside 12 minutes and then being held responsible for Bridge's international retirement would not affect Terry's equilibrium on some level.

Not forgetting Bridge's refusal to shake his hand at Chelsea and Capello's subsequent declaration that Terry would not be captain again on his watch, which was accompanied by a sermon about kids and how England players need to show them a path through life.

On the evidence of this tussle with the best team in Africa, Terry retains his outcast status in the eyes of his manager and many England fans, who have developed a generalised antipathy to hedonistic and narcissistic conduct.

Terry always exemplified the lionhearted geezer persona many England fans have always warmed to, so you would think it must have taken a lot for them to turn on him, when it really only took extra-marital slap and tickle, plus clear evidence of greed in the way he chased every buck that could be wrung from his position.

So the question for Capello, for England, is how long Terry will be locked out in the cold before being allowed back inside to his basket. Booing serves no purpose beyond allowing fans to feel righteous and they soon tired of it. For the England coach, meanwhile, there is the inescapable knowledge that successful teams are built around strong centre-back pairings.

With Ledley King plagued by knee trouble, a Terry-Ferdinand partnership is England's only fully credible combination for a World Cup quarter-final against a top-five nation. Neither Matthew Upson nor Joleon Lescott consistently attains the standards needed to nullify the world's best strikers.

The slip by Upson that led to Mohamed Zidan's first-half goal was attributable to the continuing farce of a £757m stadium being home to such a bad pitch, but the point remains: Terry is the best stopper in the English game.

After the interval the ex-captain was more vocal and demonstrative than the stand-in, but when Gerrard was withdrawn the armband passed under JT's nose to Wayne Rooney, then Gareth Barry. Another few weeks of shame and then a weird kind of sympathy will kick in.

Carvalho Scare For Chelsea

Ricardo Carvalho has handed Chelsea an injury scare after picking up an injury on international duty.

The Blues defender was a late withdrawal from the Portugal side for Wednesday's friendly with China because of a thigh problem.

The decision to leave him out was taken as a precautionary measure after the experienced centre-back reported pain in his right thigh.

Carvalho is now a doubt for this weekend's FA Cup quarter-final against Stoke, although Chelsea are waiting to find out the full extent of the injury.

Carlo Ancelotti will be hoping it is not serious as the Italian coach gets ready for a busy period of fixtures including the return meeting with Inter Milan in the Champions League on March 16.

John Terry Would Not Survive In Argentina, Says Carlos Tevez

The Manchester City striker Carlos Tevez has spoken out about John Terry's recent off-field troubles, saying that had such allegations been made against an Argentinian a player "would not survive".

"If you acted like this in Argentina you'd be dead," Tevez told the Sun. "It's complicated to say something about what Terry did to [Wayne] Bridge. I don't think you can do that with the wife of another player.

It's wrong. In my opinion, Terry has no moral code for what he did to Bridge. In my neighbourhood if you do that, you lose your legs, or more – you don't survive."

But Tevez denied that his angry confrontation with Terry at Stamford Bridge last Saturday was a result of his support for his City team-mate. "I didn't fight with Terry because of that," he said.

"I fought with him because he took me by the shirt and I didn't like it. I became furious with him because of that."

The striker, who played for Argentina against Germany in Munich last night, did however reserve some opprobrium for Chelsea's German international Michael Ballack.

"I have always had problems with Ballack but, you know, it is just football, not personal issues between us," he said.

"I don't know, maybe he doesn't like me, as I don't like him. On the field, I have never understood what he is saying to me but I am sure he didn't understand me either."