FORMER England manager Fabio Capello has revealed the two mistakes he thinks the Three Lions made against France.
Gareth Southgate’s side were knocked out against the world champions on Saturday despite a battling performance.
Aurélien Tchouaméni and Olivier Giroud scored goals either side of Harry Kane’s first penalty to send France into the semi-final.
Kane then had the chance to equalise from the spot a second time but blasted the ball over the bar.
Capello, who managed England between 2007 and 2012, identified two problems that led to the defeat against France.
He singled out the defending for the second goal but said Jordan Pickford’s distribution was the “big mistake”.
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Capello told Sky Sports News: “During the game, they made some mistakes.
“The defending of the goal for Giroud but the big mistake [was] the keeper. Not for the first goal but after during the game he always [hit] long balls.
“It’s possible to play the ball. My idea of football is where you can play, you have to play.
“He made a waste [with all the] long balls. The same mistake they made when they played against Italy in the Euros at Wembley.
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“After they are winning, England, they started to shoot long balls, not play it – the goalkeeper. I don’t understand why.”
Capello also revealed that he did not understand why Kane took the second penalty after Mason Mount was barged by Theo Hernandez.
The Italian added: “After Kane scored the first penalty, the second was more difficult. [He’s thinking] ‘where do I shoot now? Where do I shoot?
“This is for me the problem. I think probably you have to [choose] another player.”
Capello only oversaw one tournament in his five years in charge of England.
He led the Three Lions to the 2010 World Cup in South Africa where England squeezed out of their group.
But the campaign came to a calamitous end as they were beaten by old foes Germany in the last-16 after a long-range effort by Frank Lampard was wrongly judged not to have crossed the line.
Capello resigned in 2012 after the FA stripped John Terry of the England captaincy.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
