England boss Fabio Capello has challenged his players to make the step up from the Champions League to the international stage ahead of next month's World Cup qualifying campaign.
The Italian insisted there was cause for optimism against the Czech Republic on Wednesday night as England were playing "without fear" and creating chances in the first half at Wembley, although most agreed the hosts were fortunate to rescue a draw at the death.
With England's core players scheduled for at least two club games before facing Andorra and Croatia at the start of September, Capello believes his squad will be ready to take the first steps towards South Africa in 2010.
The task the England boss faces is translating success at club level into a team that qualifies for a major tournament, then to match the likes of Brazil and Spain - but nothing looked much different at Wembley to the regime of Steve McClaren.
"I don't want to speak about the team before my arrival," Capello said. "I am looking to build a team; mentality, passion and everything. This is my problem.
"When they play in the national team they play against the best XI from another country and the level is high, it is not as easy as when you play with the club. It is different."
Capello said prior to the Czech friendly that experimentation was over, so with that in mind Wayne Rooney is likely to play off a main striker in Barcelona and Zagreb when the qualifiers get under way.
"The movement of Rooney and the work that he does in every game is very important for me," said Capello. "I think Rooney, Gerrard and other players are not in perfect condition physically at the moment. That will be very important."
Rooney admits his tracking back in Capello's formation could affect his goalscoring potential.
"Maybe at times I am a bit too honest, and at club level the manager is telling me not to defend too much, to try and save some energy for when we are attacking," Rooney said.
"But sometimes you just want to win the ball back and work hard for the team. That is just how I play.
"Maybe it does affect my goals tally, but hopefully I can learn and get better."
Capello also looks comfortable with Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard in the same starting XI, although he was criticised for playing the Liverpool captain on the left flank.
Capello insists he instructed the Liverpool skipper to play as one of the support forwards to Jermain Defoe.
"You have to understand that this player was not in a good condition at the moment," Capello said. "Gerrard only played one game. This is my opinion."
Capello highlighted the problems his side face against counter-attacking teams, which could play into Croatia's hands next month.
Despite admitting "doubts" about his team after his latest game, Capello feels they are making small steps in the right direction.
He said: "It was the first time they played without fear at Wembley - well or not well, but they played with no fear. This is important. This is the style of the English player.
"I spoke with some people in the dressing room and after the first half they were happy, also the players.
"In the first half we shot six or seven times and I think one of the best players was Petr Cech because he made three saves. This is important for me."
While David Beckham's right boot from set-pieces seems the most likely source of joy for Capello, he insists the former skipper is in the team for his overall contribution to the team.
"People try to find things that are not correct," Capello added. "Beckham plays not only for free-kicks and set-pieces, but because he plays well.
"With Beckham, Rio (Ferdinand) or John Terry it is the same, if they do not play well they are not going to play."
