Anxious wait in store for Cole as Chelsea star sweats on Cup call

Cole is sweating on his place for South Africa but came off the bench as a second-half substitute to set up the equaliser in yesterday's 2-1 win over Japan in Austria.

The Chelsea player said: "Do I have any nerves? You've got to be pragmatic about it. I came here 10 days ago to try to enjoy my time back here, train well, and it's in the manager's hands about the squad.

"There are a lot of players who will be hoping, a lot of players have got a good case. But, whatever happens, we are all right behind England and hopefully this will be our time. Have I done enough? I don't want to go into that. I had a good finish to the season, I wasn't starting but I was having an impact coming off the bench.

"I came here and did my thing and I've enjoyed it because it has been such a long time, Croatia was my last game and I ended up with 10 stitches in my head.

"It is just nice to be back around the lads. It feels great and today the most important thing was that we got the win.

"These games are never easy. You don't want to get injured – there were some tackles flying in... it's a great win and a decent performance.

"Now, I just want to go and help England win the World Cup. I don't know what I will do on Tuesday. I've never been in this position. I don't know. It is a funny atmosphere. There is nothing you can do.

"We've done everything we can do, we've trained hard, everyone has had an excellent week's training and that's all you can do. I'll wake up, have my breakfast and there we go."

Capello was impressed with the display of Cole yesterday and after explaining that he could be fresh having missed most of the season for Chelsea, he added: "Joe Cole is an intelligent player. He can play in different positions. It was very interesting."