Capello happy with progress

The England boss saw goalkeeper David James bring down Nicolas Anelka in the first half at the Stade de France to allow Franck Ribery to score the only goal of a match in which David Beckham won his 100th cap.

Capello, however, was upbeat and said: "I saw some very good things against a top-level team. That showed me what our worth is."

The 61-year-old Italian insisted the display, even in defeat, was superior to the one which beat Switzerland 2-1 in his first game in charge at Wembley last month.

And he maintained he was delighted with the performance of Beckham, who was replaced by David Bentley after 63 minutes and received a standing ovation from the entire stadium.

Capello has said he believes 32-year-old Beckham can play for his country right through to the World Cup finals in 2010 and he praised him for a performance which saw him join an exclusive club which also comprises Billy Wright, Sir Bobby Charlton, Bobby Moore and Peter Shilton.

He also maintained he substituted Beckham only so that he could take a look at Bentley against top-rated opposition.

He said: "I'm very happy about David Beckham. He played like I know how he can play. I only substituted him because I wanted to see other players and I know Beckham as a player very well.

"I told the players I am happy we made progress compared to Switzerland, even though we won that game."