Former England captain Fabio Capello has blasted the English national team by claiming that they have a ‘loser’ mentality.
England have travelled to Russia for the World Cup with a lot of hope pinned on their 23-man squad and manager Gareth Southgate but Capello feels that the English players are not strong enough.
The Three Lions reached the semi-finals stage at the 1990 tournament in Italy and since then they have not been able to recreate that moment.
Last tournament they hit a new low when they failed to qualify for the knockout stages but everyone feels that this year will be different.
This campaign many pundits feel that England might go a long way – maybe not reach the finals but they should reach the quarterfinals with the amount of talent they have in their squad.
But Capello thinks otherwise.
The former England coach told BBC Sport: “This never-ending 66, the returning ghost, something with its white tentacles… and you can no longer perform in the way that you should.”
“The other teams get on with it and win. They don’t come up with these excuses.
“They’re losers’ excuses.
“The shirt of the national team can weigh down heavily on a player’s shoulders. It’s not a sacrifice, it’s not a prison.
“These are all things people make up in the wake of defeats.
“The pressure of a World Cup is something different. Unfortunately, it’s hard to understand what happens to many players in that environment.”
Fabio Capello was in charge of England from 2008 till 2012. Under him, the English team bowed out of the 2010 World Cup from the last 16 stages after being beaten by Germany.
