Fab's friendly fire to stir up England

England coach Fabio Capello today urged his side to build on their first friendlies under him with the 2010 World Cup qualifiers starting in five weeks.

Capello is in Thailand as a guest of the country's football federation but is expected to return to London on Monday, when he will step up his preparations for the forthcoming campaign.

Although England begin their qualifiers with an easy opener away to Andorra on 6 September, they face Croatia, in Zagreb, four days later. The Croats ended England's Euro 2008 hopes and the reign of Capello's predecessor, Steve McClaren, with a 3-2 victory last November.

That is why the boss is eager for his side to take their game to another level when they play the Czech Republic, on 20 August, at Wembley. The friendly will be the first time the squad have been together since their end-of-season matches against the United States and Trinidad & Tobago.

Capello's side beat the States 2-0 in a low-key affair and followed that up with a 3-0 victory over a weak side in the Caribbean. The 62-year-old said today: "With respect to our last two games, we must start again and show improvements.

"I expect my players to continue doing what I ask them to do."

Capello offered a light-hearted comment about Inter Milan's attempt to sign Frank Lampard. The England midfielder has been a target for his former boss, Jose Mourinho, but is set to remain at Stamford Bridge and see out the last year of his contract.