Team meeting adds to Owen's fears that Capello will start with him on the bench

Sportsmail understands that the squad emerged from a team meeting last night having received the strongest hint yet that Capello intends to start with the personnel he played as a unit in training yesterday.

• England's probable starting XI

England train for the final time at their Hertfordshire hotel this morning, but Owen fears Capello has already taken the decision to axe him from the starting line-up.

The Newcastle striker, who has scored just one goal in his past nine Premier League games, was a passenger in training on Tuesday as Capello worked on various formations.

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Owen has not been dropped by England since Kevin Keegan left him on the bench against France on September 2, 2000, but he was fearing the worst on Tuesday.

Capello, who named Steven Gerrard as captain against the Swiss, has caused anxiety among the squad, but David Bentley and Ashley Young are expected to make their first starts.

Bentley, who caught the eye of Capello's assistant Franco Baldini during several trips to watch him play for Blackburn, is in line to start on the right of a 4-4-1-1 formation.

Young gets his chance on the left and Joe Cole is being considered for a starting role, playing just off Wayne Rooney.

Wes Brown is on standby to replace Micah Richards at right back and West Ham's Matthew Upson believes he has pipped Jonathan Woodgate for a place alongside Rio Ferdinand in the centre of England's defence.

Despite Owen's impressive international record — he has 40 goals in 88 appearances for his country — it is widely known that Capello does not consider the Newcastle striker to be a team player.

Capello is determined to build a team ethic and that means Owen must change his game if he is to fit into the new regime.

The Italian wanted to pair Gabriel Agbonlahor with Rooney for his first game in charge, but he had to re-assess those plans when the Aston Villa striker pulled out with a hamstring injury.

Instead, Capello has worked on a variation of that theme by incorporating Cole behind the main striker.

England's players will not be officially informed what the team is until they board the team bus at 5pm.

Capello is determined to make his mark as the country's new manager, but he insists it will take time before his methods are adopted by the players.

The Italian said: "To begin with, I'm not a Messiah. I'm just someone who tries to achieve results through hard work.

"I will try to pass on that winning mentality to the players and to be confident, especially when we play at home. We need to play bravely.

"When we are away, we need to be more confident in our strengths and braver in the way we play. I've always played 4-4-2, but these are not the most important aspects.

"In the Premier League matches I have seen recently, only two or three teams play 4-4-2. Others play with one man up front but, in order to be clear, I have ideas about how my team will play."

That much has been made clear in Capello's opening three training sessions with the England players and later this afternoon they will find out just who really are part of his plans.