When David Seaman cried tears of despair after being beaten from 40 yards by Ronaldinho at the 2002 World Cup, Phil Jones cried with him.

He was sitting with his classmates at St Paul's Primary School in Lostock Hall near Preston, mind; a 10-year-old among a group of distraught, blubbering 10-year-olds thousands of miles from Shizuoka.

Gearing up: Jones (left centre) trains with Terry and Milner

'The headmaster got out his drum,' Jones recalled.

On Thursday, Jones came close to reducing some middle-aged sports-writers to tears; the thought that this young man, a
Blackburn fan who remembers Matt Jansen but not Alan Shearer in blue and white quarters, will be playing such an important role for England against the world champions.

This lad struggles to recall the days when Spain failed to fulfil their considerable potential in tournament after tournament.

His clearer recollections are when they have been brilliant but, fortunately for Fabio Capello, he is not the slightest bit fazed at the prospect of facing them at Wembley.

No wonder Sir Alex Ferguson is so pleased with his summer signing. Jones has already been compared to Duncan Edwards and the confidence he possesses at 19 would suggest he has all the necessary qualities to reach the very top.

Capello considers him a future England captain and in his first major interview on senior duty he gave a fine demonstration of why. On and off the pitch, this teenager has a touch of class about him.

'For the manager to say that is a brilliant feeling,' he said. 'Hopefully I can get there one day.'

Ask him about Xavi and Andres Iniesta and he says: 'They're only human,' before explaining how best to cope with Spain's carousel style of play. 'If you get among them they can make mistakes.'

It will be interesting to see exactly which position Capello has in mind for Jones. The England manager has hinted at the possibility of a central midfield role and, judging by what the player said yesterday, that might well be the case. With concerns over Phil Jagielka's fitness, though, he could end up where both Jones and Ferguson consider him to be most useful - centre half.

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