Carragher cries foul but accepts German quality

The majority of Carragher's England team-mates spent their day off either playing golf or with their families on Sunday.

Carragher opted to do a bit of homework on the opposition, watching all three matches, starting with Slovenia's defeat of England's next Group C opponents Algeria, and finishing with Germany's four-goal destruction of Australia.

It was a chastening experience given England's inability to overcome the United States 24 hours earlier, and placed even more emphasis on clinching top spot in order to avoid Joachim Low's men in the first knockout round.

But Carragher suggests it was not a coincidence that Germany were able to hit the ground running given they were able to become accustomed to the lightweight World Cup ball in the Bundesliga last term thanks to their sponsorship tie-up with manufacturers adidas.

"It gives them an advantage, that is obvious because the ball is very different," said Carragher. "We start every training session by passing 30 or 40 yards to each other for that reason alone, so I am sure it has helped them.

"They played so well against Australia that we are trying not to hype them up too much. That they might have been playing with the ball is something to cling to anyway. I have had two or three texts about it."

Yet Carragher accepts there must be more to it than that.

For the past eight years, Germany have appeared to be in the midst of a slump from which they have only just emerged thanks to Bayern Munich's charge to the Champions League final.

But they have managed to reach a World Cup final and a semi-final in that time, while England's so-called 'Golden Generation' have lost at the quarter-final stage on two occasions, which just about sums up the difference in abilities at major tournaments.

Even now, Carragher does not feel England have an inferior squad, more that Germany may just have an unbreakable inner resolve that the 'Three Lions' need to adopt.

"Germany were very impressive. Joachim Low has done a great job and Mesut Ozil was outstanding. But you wouldn't say the names roll off the tongue," said Carragher. "Maybe what they have is a belief of always being there at the end.

"It is similar to what we have at Liverpool where we are known for getting late goals no matter who is on the pitch.

"You believe you are going to do it. Maybe there is something in that because we (England) have not done very well in tournaments.

"But I am still pretty confident we can do well here."

Carragher knows England must do better, but has backed coach Fabio Capello to handle any increased pressure he may encounter after an unimpressive start to their World Cup bid.

Capello's tactics and team selections have come under the microscope since England were held to a 1-1 draw by the United States in Rustenburg on Saturday.

The Italian substituted James Milner before half-time after playing him out of position wide left.

Then Capello decided to replace the injured Ledley King with Carragher, who he coaxed out of international retirement, rather than Matthew Upson who has featured regularly during his reign.

But Carragher's faith in the manager remains strong and the Liverpool defender believes his experience at Real Madrid and AC Milan will ensure he deals with being in the spotlight.

When asked if being under more pressure would affect Capello, Carragher said: "No, I don't think so. He is a very experienced manager.

"We always think England is big pressure but managing

AC Milan and Real Madrid is also big pressure on a daily basis.

"He has dealt with that and been successful. There was always going to come a point where he was going to be under pressure.

"That is part of being a manager. It can't always be rosy but I'm sure he will have no problem. Then you look at his record, what he has done in his career, what he has done for now with England, qualifying etc. That is why there is faith in him.

"His record as a manager is pretty unblemished. That gives you belief for the tournament."

Carragher also has faith in goalkeeper Robert Green to put his blunder against the USA behind him.

He said: "I've seen him today (Monday) and I am sure he will be fine.

"At this level, every player is under a lot of scrutiny when you make a mistake. That homes things in on an individual player.

"We've all been there, we all know what he is going through, and to get to this level you've got to have a certain mental strength. He will have no problem and will come back."