Capello hails England spirit as Germany wait in second round (VIDEO)

Jermain Defoe scored the first-half goal which gave England a victory which took them through to the last 16.

They will now play Group D winners Germany in Bloemfontein on Sunday after the USA topped Group C with a last-ditch win against Algeria.

England boss Capello was delighted by the manner in which his team rediscovered the spirit which had been missing in draws against the United States and Algeria.

Capello, whose iron discipline had been questioned in the last two weeks, said: "Yesterday evening they drank beer before the game.

"And I saw the team play with the spirit that we lost in the games we played before this game. The performance was really good and we created a lot of chances to score a second goal.

"This is the spirit that I remember when we played in the qualification games. I am really happy with the performance of the team.

"We played together, fight together and I am really, really happy for the result.

"This was the team that I know. This team can go forward. All the team the coaches, their mind is free. We can go forward without fear, without everything.

"We played hard, we attacked the ball and this is important if we want to win."

Capello substituted Wayne Rooney, who was struggling with an ankle injury after suffering a kick in the second half, bringing on Joe Cole after 71 minutes.

But he is confident Rooney will recover to take his place against the Germans on Sunday.

Capello said: "I substituted Wayne because his ankle was not so good, he has some problems."

Pressed on how serious the injury was, Capello added: "I don't know. I have to wait for the doctor but I think it will be okay for the next game on Sunday."

Capello strode onto the pitch at the final whistle and made a point of embracing John Terry, the former England captain who had questioned the manager's methods at the training camp in Rustenburg and made a thinly-veiled appeal for Joe Cole to be selected.

Capello said of Terry: "He is a leader. I have no problem with the players. I respect the players and they respect me. It was a very important performance from Terry. But all the players played really well."

Capello also believes England will improve as the tournament progresses

"I'm sure we will play more with confidence," he said. "We have found the spirit, the quality of the play was really good and we improved a lot physically. We ran a lot.

"I spoke with the players when we saw the first half against Algeria. We understood it was not a good way to go forward and during training it was very good, focused and fast.

"We found the physicality that we know usually. The players were the same that we see in the Premier League."

Leeds-born James Milner was recalled to the England side and it was his cross which created the winning goal for Defoe. He said the camp had never lost faith in the manager.

"We all knew what we had to go out there and do, we had faith in the manager and never doubted what he was saying."

Slovenia manager Matjaz Kek had to wait for a couple of unbearable minutes at the final whistle, only to learn that Landon Donovan had scored for the USA against Algeria to send Slovenia home.

He believes England can now go on to win the trophy.

Kek said: "I hope England win at the World Cup and I think England are a favourite. They played well but at the end we could have levelled and made a draw. Sport is very unpredictable.

"Some people will think I'm disappointed but I am proud that I have come so far with this Slovenia side. At the end it was indescribable but this is sport.

"I hope it will be a positive experience for Slovenia and our squad will benefit from it. I would be really glad if Slovenia had won. We have put in a lot of effort.

"I hope these players will be role models for other players in Slovenia. They are maturing a lot and we have created future potential."