• World Cup

Capello bemoans disallowed goal

Soccernet staff
June 27, 2010
Fabio Capello insists his players performed well against Germany © Getty Images
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bio Capello said he did not understand why FIFA refuses to use video technology after Frank Lampard saw a clear goal not awarded during England's 4-1 defeat to Germany .

England fell two goals behind after 32 minutes as Miroslav Klose and Lukas Podolski took advantage of some poor defending, but they hit back through Matthew Upson and should have been level when Frank Lampard's shot cannoned off the underside of the crossbar and across the line.

That goal was not awarded, though, and, although he came close in the second half when his free-kick hit the bar, England were caught on the break in the 67th and 70th minutes as a Thomas Muller brace put the game beyond doubt.

Referring to the goal that was not given, Capello told the BBC: "It was, I think, one of the most important things in the game. We [could have played] a different style because we scored the second goal [and would not have to] go forward.

"I just don't understand. We have the technology to assist the referee and we stay here to speak about this - goal or no goal. I don't understand why."

He added: "We play, I think, well when we were 2-1, 2-2. After we lost the third goal, we played I think a little bit disappointing. Mistakes were made because they played the counter-attack after the free-kick for us."

Despite the unlucky breaks, the result - England's worst ever World Cup defeat - meant Capello's men won just one game in South Africa, against Slovenia, and there was little argument that the players had failed to live up to expectations.

Asked about the poor performances, Capello said: "No, we played well. They played well because Germany is one of the biggest teams here. We made some mistakes when they played the counter-attack, the referee made the more big mistake, but this is the football. The little things decide the results always."

Captain Steven Gerrard admitted the disallowed goal had an effect but made no excuses for the heavy defeat.

"There were big key decisions in the game, at 2-1 we had a goal disallowed," he told BBC 5 Live. "At 2-1 we were hurting them and we were still in the game. I think it (the disallowed goal) had an effect but we cannot use that as an excuse with being beaten 4-1.

"That would have been a big goal for us. It's all ifs and buts. Germany are a fantastic team and they deserved their win. You go away and you have a think about what went wrong and why we didn't progress further in the tournament.

"As a team we've made a big mistake today and we've been beaten by a good team. They were more clinical in front of goal and they made less mistakes than us and we got punished for that."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
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