David James relishing second Torres test
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England goalkeeper David James is relishing the prospect of facing Fernando Torres again for the second time in five days, as the Three Lions aim to use Spain’s European Championship success as a platform on which to build confidence for the 2010 World Cup.
England travel to Seville on Wednesday night as Fabio Capello’s men look to continue their recent good form, which has seen them make an impressive start to their World Cup qualifying campaign, proudly sitting top of Group Six.
And Portsmouth goalkeeper James, who was beaten in the dying moments by Torres in Saturday evening’s Premier League encounter with Liverpool, is determined that England will not fall to a similar fate.
“Fernando Torres, as he proved last weekend with seemingly the clock running out, is capable of producing some magic and is an outstanding player,” he said.“He’s sharp, strong and his youthful pretty boy looks are just a façade when it comes to his playing – he’s as physical and aggressive as some of the hardened players people talk about.”
But while Torres could be pinpointed as Spain’s major threat, James believes England would be wrong to focus solely on the Liverpool striker.
“The difficulty is, as good as Fernando can be, you get drawn to one player, it’s another player who inevitably scores the goals or becomes a problem.”
The 38-year-old, who is set to make his 46th appearance for his country in Seville, feels there is now a new confidence spreading around the camp, with the squad keen to make up for previous failings.
“The crop of players we’ve got now is pretty much the same nucleus as England have had for the last eight years," he says. "Eight years ago it was considered the golden generation which some people might say underachieved, some people might say were unlucky.
“We’ve got a different man in charge now who is a fantastic manager and seems, as far as the competitive games, to be getting the right results for the team.
“He’s established a level of belief, which has possibly been missing. The team from eight years ago was so talented but just missed that missing factor and it seems that Mr Capello has brought that in now.”
The England side has been criticised in recent years for being arrogant, but James is quick to dismiss this view, believing the current crop are determined to prove the doubters wrong.
“We are confident, we’re not big-headed, but unfortunately with confidence some people might see it as touch of arrogance,” he says.
And, beginning with Wednesday’s night friendly, James is adament Capello can lead England to glory, eclipsing Spain's success of Euro 2008 by triumphing in South Africa in 2010.
“As European Champions, I'm sure they will be looking to extend their run of success, which we want to mirror or even surpass in the next 18 months,” he says.
“I continually say how good Mr Capello is as a manager – he seems to be able to put the squad right and even with injuries he can get the best out of the team."
And as far as James’ international future is concerned, he has no intentions of hanging up his England gloves anytime soon.
“Unfortunately club football has not been as successful as I perhaps would have liked it to have been so far but the international scene was left on a very sweet note,” he says.
“I am as hungry now as ever and, if anything, the international winter break has made me even hungrier. I’m happy to be involved and long may that continue.”