You don't win anything with kids

If I was an England player and myself and the team had already qualified for the World Cup -regardless of how strong my passion for playing internationals for my country was - I would not really want to go all the way to the Ukraine.

If I was a young, promising player desperate to get on the world cup squad next summer, I would leap at the chance to play in a game that was competitive but ultimately did not matter to the side.

It begs the question: Why did Fabio Capello not play the youngsters against the Ukraine?

England were unlucky to an extent today. They looked the better side for large periods of the game and could well have won it with Rooney's chance towards the end. Ultimately though, they lost. So with hindsight, it would have been better to field some of the youngsters.

I would hasten a bet that the real reason lies in the expected reaction of Croatia should England have done that. Let's not forget that they and the Ukrainians are embroiled in a battle for that vital second place in the group.