In trying to articulate what is wrong with this England team, Fabio Capello tapped his head. ‘The problem was here,’ he said after seeing his side squeeze past Wales with a most unconvincing victory — and it is a problem he fears might be impossible to cure in certain individuals.

Brought on, seemingly, by appearing at Wembley or by matches when the pressure really is on, he says he can see the confidence draining from his players before a ball has been kicked.

On Tuesday night it was during the warm-up, as it appears to have been on occasions in the past. The Italian stands there with his coaching staff and studies the five-a-side passing game he always employs as part of their pre-match routine.

Glum: England players seemed not to enjoy the warm-up at Wembley

One observer described Tuesday night’s effort as ‘rubbish’; there was no intensity, the passing was poor, there was no sense of enjoyment, excitement, no apparent eagerness to get on with the game.

Instead, England’s players were going through the motions. It was a chore, an obligation, rather than something to sharpen their minds and their skills.

At that moment, Capello knew he was in for a difficult night because he knows his players and he has seen it, sensed it, all too often before. Particularly since the World Cup.

Capello inherited a group crushed, mentally, by their failure to qualify for Euro 2008 and scarred by the disappointment of previous  tournaments. The World Cup in Germany was also a shambles for England, the so-called golden  generation performing well below their potential.

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