Originally Posted by FranklyVulgar

I would agree with that, you have a new manager and he needs games to see what the side is all about. Due to the fixtures he has limited oppertunities to try things before important games so i honesty think that these games are very important for preperation.

National teams do not get pre season tours or spend alot of time together as a team. Qualification is extreamly difficult, even the european minnows can cause teams problems these days.

But if you would rather England went into their group without a single match under Capello and then expect some miraculous change in fortunes then that is fine by me