• Euro 2012 qualifying

Rooney frustrated by poor performance - Capello

Montenegro equalised in the last minute after Wayne Rooney's red © Getty Images

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England boss Fabio Capello claims that off-field issues did not contribute to Wayne Rooney's red card in the Euro 2012 qualifier against Montenegro on Friday, which finished in a 2-2 draw, guaranteeing England's place at the finals.

Rooney was sent off in the second half for kicking out at Miodrag Dzudovic after a battle for possession, and will now miss at least one match of the tournament in Poland and Ukraine next summer.

The Manchester United striker has endured a testing week, having seen his father and uncle arrested following allegations of a betting scam, but Capello says that did not fuel his frustration. The Italian tactician did, however, reveal Rooney apologised to his team-mates after the game.

"He made a silly mistake and said: 'Yes, sorry','' Capello explained. "It's a red card. You can't defend that."

Asked if Rooney had offered an explanation for his action, Capello said to Sky Sports: "No. It surprises me because just in front of me he kicked the opponent, because probably he wasn't happy for the performance and the way he lost the ball. For the next game, he will be suspended, so we will try to find new solutions.

"He is an important player, but sometimes the important player doesn't play well and can make mistakes. It will be a good lesson for him and also for the team.

"When the player is frustrated it is always on the pitch, it doesn't matter what happened away from here. It was not easy to control the ball, the pitch was not perfect, and he wants to be the best always. When you miss the pass ... I think he was frustrated."

Meanwhile, Capello has revealed he will blood new faces in the friendly match with Spain next month. "Now we need to think about the next friendly game," he said. "We will play against Spain at Wembley, and I think for this game I will select young players - some playing at Wembley for the first time, so it will be really interesting.

"We played this game to qualify for the Euros. But I need to speak about the game because we played really well 25 minutes, then the last ten minutes of the first half we played too relaxed, and after they scored the goal they found more chances. We drew the game but the result is OK for both."

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