He'll be fit in two or three days but their manager will decide as they have the Champions League afterwards." Eager to avoid a row with Liverpool, Capello added: "He decided to stay here.
"He practised with us but, after 10 minutes, he felt it. "We spoke after the game against Ukraine and Steven thought he'd be fit, perhaps for this game," Capello said. I spoke to him in training and asked why you are not good? He has got better." Beckham was looking to impress at Arsenal's London Colney on the eve of the Belarus clash, with James missing the session and Gerrard heading to the dressing room after starting in a 10-v-10 practice match. Capello, explaining why Beckham did not make the matchday squad, said: "He arrived and was tired in training. He's a good man, a big man, an important player for England and United." Despite backing Ferdinand, Capello has stressed there are no "untouchables" in his squad - Gareth Barry was dropped against Ukraine and David Beckham did not make the bench. "I spoke with him about the moment, and different things. "We will see the DVD of the game to understand what happened, and I will see the mistakes. "I spoke with Rio, on Monday and this morning, and I will speak also with some other players," Capello said. Capello has talked to Ferdinand about his error and insists he has total confidence in the Manchester United centre-back. Gerrard's absence could give James Milner an opportunity on the left wing, Agbonlahor and Crouch will lead the attack, while Rio Ferdinand will get the chance to atone for his mistake in Dnipropetrovsk that led to Green's dismissal. The Portsmouth goalkeeper will need a late fitness test. Why wouldn't they have that capacity?" Rob Green is suspended after his red card against Ukraine at the weekend, but David James' return has been complicated by a knee complaint. I want to see some players in different positions." Some previous England teams have been accused of lacking plan A, let alone B or C, but Capello insisted: "When I decide the squad, I decide always different styles that I can play with it with the players who will be with me.
"Sometimes, during the friendly games, we've changed it. We played always more or less the same style in all the games we've played. It depends on the opposition and the style of the game we need to play. "We need to play other styles, style A, B, C. "The two forwards will be Crouch and Agbonlahor," Capello confirmed.
Against the same opponents at the same stage of the European Championships two years earlier, Rooney limped off after 26 minutes and England were defeated on penalties - so Capello is aware there needs to be an alternative way to success. With a place in South Africa secured, Capello wants to look at "plan A, B, C", which on this occasion means being without Rooney, just like Sven-Goran Eriksson was for an hour against Portugal during the quarter-finals of the last World Cup. Rooney has played all nine of Capello's competitive matches but has a calf strain for the 10th and is joined on the sidelines by Steven Gerrard, whose groin complaint has given the Italian another reason to experiment with systems and fringe players in the dead rubber.