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Carragher: Have faith in Fabio

Rustenburg - Centre-back Jamie Carragher has called on England fans to have faith in manager Fabio Capello after widespread criticism of the Italian in the English media.

Capello was widely blamed for the selections of James Milner, Rob Green and Ledley King in Saturday's 1-1 draw against the United States in Group C.

Milner struggled so much against US right-back Steve Cherundolo he was taken off before half-time; King, who has a history of injuries, suffered a groin problem and had to be taken off at half-time; and Green allowed Clint Dempsey to equalize with a weak shot that slipped through his hands.

But Carragher, who replaced King at half-time, is firmly behind the manager.

"Look at his record," Carragher said. "He's Fabio Capello: look at what he's done in his career and what he's done up to now with England."

He dismissed the thought that the pressure would have any effect on the England manager.

"I'm sure Fabio Capello will be fine," he said. "He's been manager of Real Madrid and AC Milan. He's seen it all before."

Having won nine titles in 14 years at club level, Capello dragged England from the gloom that surrounded their failure to qualify for Euro 2008 to a qualification for the World Cup at the top of their group, having scored seven more goals than anybody else in the European section.

Carragher also dismissed suggestions that the decision only to reveal the team two hours before kick-off had had any impact.

"I've played for Liverpool for 12-14 years and the manager always tells us the team two hours before the game.

"It's no different. Certain managers are concerned about opponents knowing the team, and that's fair enough. It keeps everybody on their toes."

Carragher is likely to partner John Terry in England's second Group C match, against Algeria in Cape Town on Friday.

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