Capello praises Beckham, England after narrow defeat

By Patrick Vignal

PARIS (Reuters) - England coach Fabio Capello praised his team and particularly David Beckham after a brave performance in a 1-0 defeat by France in a friendly on Wednesday.

"As I told the players, I'm very happy about what they did tonight," Capello told a news conference after a tight game in the French capital, where England have not beaten France since a 3-1 win in 1949.

"We made progress compared to the Switzerland game, even though we had won that one," the Italian added, referring to a 2-1 friendly win in his first game in charge at Wembley last month.

"We played against a top team and showed some good things. The team showed that they didn't want to lose. That's the most positive aspect," he added.

Beckham, winning his 100th cap, worked tirelessly on the right wing and received a standing ovation from the Stade de France crowd when he was substituted after 63 minutes.

"David played like I know he can play," said Capello. "I only substituted him because I wanted to see other players and I know him well."

France, playing their last high-profile match before June's European championship finals, for which England failed to qualify, needed a first-half penalty by Franck Ribery against the run of play to shrug off a spirited England challenge.

"I wanted a tough match against a strong team and I got it," said France coach Raymond Domenech.

"We were more intelligent than spectacular but we showed some good things," he added. "We need to show more initiative up front but overall, I'm pretty pleased."

England were the better side in the first half but gradually tired in the second.

"We should have made more of the opportunities to counter-attack we had in that second half," said Domenech. "Still, we can build on what I saw tonight."

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