England manager Fabio Capello last night confirmed the Manchester United defender was unavailable for the game against Andorra, but he is expected to be fit for Wednesday's trip to Croatia.

The match against Andorra in Barcelona is Capello's first competitive match since he took over from Steve McClaren following England's failure to qualify for Euro 2008.

And it is his attack which will concern him most as England look to give their campaign immediate impetus.

Capello yesterday urged Wayne Rooney to regain his goalscoring touch while defending his decision to leave out Michael Owen for the games with Andorra and Croatia.

The coach opted not to select Owen, despite his scoring record of 40 goals in 89 internationals, after watching him in action for Newcastle against Arsenal last weekend.

Now he hopes that Rooney, without an international goal since scoring against Russia 11 months ago, can fill the breach, starting against the minnows of Andorra tonight.

Rooney looked a shadow of himself when partnering Jermain Defoe in last month's friendly international against the Czech Republic at Wembley on his way to recovering from an illness inflicted when in Africa with Manchester United.

Capello said: "It is very important for Wayne Rooney to be perfect physically. For the game against the Czech Republic he was not fit. Now he is better physically.

"But he has to score a goal. Psychologically, goals are very important for forwards and if you don't hit the target then it is a problem.

"However, it is not only Wayne but all the other players. It is not important who scores the goals individually, but that the team manages to score them."

Owen completed his first 90 minutes of the season against the Gunners having previously come off the bench to score against Bolton and then Coventry in the Carling Cup.

Capello insisted the door is still open for England's all-time fourth leading scorer, but wants him to prove his fitness in the same way as did David Beckham when he first took over as England manager 10 months ago.

Capello said: "I considered everything when I watched Michael. It was his first full game. I checked him very well and he was not fit. These days it is important for players to be 100 per cent fit.

"The door is always open though to someone like Michael who is such a good goalscorer and maybe for the next games the situation will be different."

After five friendly internationals, England will finally move into competitive action and Capello is optimistic that they will be able to qualify for the 2010 finals in South Africa.

He said: "I have confidence in this England team. We're only just starting on the road to South Africa, but we are ready.

"We've played the five friendlies including the last one against a strong team like the Czech Republic.

"I saw a lot of things in that game (that I liked).

"Everyone knows how important it is for England to play in big tournaments and everyone is focused on trying to achieve that goal."

With Ferdinand ruled out Matthew Upson is likely to partner captain John Terry at the heart of the defence.