World Cup 2010: England display confuses Fabio Capello

Lacklustre England fail to break down Algeria

England manager Fabio Capello was left dumbfounded by his team's tepid goalless Group C draw with Algeria.

England were restricted to long-range efforts as they failed to break down a stubborn Algeria team to record their second draw of the tournament.

"We lost too many passes, it was not the same team that I know, the team I see when they train," said Capello.

"When you don't play well it's not just one player [who plays badly]. The team didn't play in the spirit that I like."

England's second successive draw means they must win their final match against group leaders Slovenia on 23 June to ensure they progress to the last 16.

World Cup Blog What did Rooney expect? He should reflect on this and deliver an apology at the earliest opportunity Phil McNulty in Capetown

Capello had hoped the return of defensive midfielder Gareth Barry would give Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard more opportunities to support strikers Wayne Rooney and Emile Heskey but instead he was subjected to a disjointed and insipid performance on his 64th birthday.

Rooney in particular was off-colour and vented his anger at a TV camera as the sound of boos resonating around the Cape Town Stadium at the end of the match.

Two days before the game, Rooney had expressed confidence that England would beat Algeria and believed England could "not be at [their] best and win the game".

But he cut a disgruntled figure as he trudged off the pitch and said into the camera: "Nice to see your own fans booing you, that's what loyal support is."

However, Manchester City's Barry said he sympathised with the frustrations of the travelling England fans.

Rooney makes his frustration clear

"It's a long way to come out here, they want the best for us and so do we," Barry told BBC Sport.

"They want to see us qualify and extend their stay out here. We need one more push to do it for the fans."

And Jermain Defoe, who came on as a second-half substitute, described the booing from England supporters as "part and parcel of playing at this level."

The Tottenham striker added: "You can understand fans getting frustrated and obviously they have travelled miles to come and support the team.

"But I think it's important for the fans to stay behind us, because the lads are devastated we didn't win."

Capello's team bore little resemblance to the one that topped World Cup qualifying Group 6, producing little invention and spark.

And the Italian suggested the pressure of playing in a World Cup could be partly responsible for the poor display.

'Disappointed' Barry praises Algeria

"Perhaps, I think so," stated Capello. "The players play well during the training. I don't know why it is. I want to see the spirit of the team and I didn't see it this evening.

"I said to the players it wasn't a good performance but we are really lucky because we can play another game. I'm always confident in my team."

Goalkeeper David James, brought in for his 50th cap for England ahead of Robert Green, was left frustrated by a resilient defensive performance from Algeria, who are 22 places below England in 30th place in Fifa's world rankings.

"You have to give Algeria credit for making the game as dire a spectacle as it turned out," James told BBC Radio 5 live.

"They didn't want us to create chances and apart from a couple of long-range free-kicks that weren't even close, I can't remember an effort that went near to the target.

"That seems to be a common theme at this World Cup - teams not wanting to lose rather than going all out to win. It has been proved with Germany, Spain and, to a lesser extent, France all losing."

James confirmed that he was informed he would play instead of Green only a couple of hours before kick-off.

He said: "I found out five minutes before we got on the bus. Usual standard. The selection process is the same regardless of what match it is. That's the way the manager wants to do it, and we accept that.

"We train hard now for a few days and wait for the selection again five minutes before we leave again on Wednesday."

Asked whether he was close to his fellow goalkeepers, James said: "I'm not close to anyone."