• England manager keeps 4-4-2 and most of World Cup failures
• Steven Gerrard backs Capello before Bulgaria qualifier

Fabio Capello will send England back into competitive action tomorrow evening with the same formation and virtually the same personnel humiliated by Germany at the World Cup in June, but the Italian insists he remains "a fighter" who will weather the storm engulfing his tenure as manager.

Jermain Defoe will start tomorrow night's opening Euro 2012 qualifier against Bulgaria, with the trio of changes to the line-up that began the 4-1 World Cup defeat at the Free State Stadium all enforced, dashing any hopes of this proving to be the dawn of a new era. England hope to include Phil Jagielka, who was able to train at Wembley today, and will pick Theo Walcott, the pair effectively replacing the injured John Terry and Frank Lampard, with the only other change from the side beaten in Bloemfontein coming in goal, where Joe Hart steps in for David James.

Capello has received the timely backing of his acting captain, Steven Gerrard, who is expected to start in a central role, and reacted to recent criticism in the media with good humour while acknowledging that the public perception of his reign could shift if Bulgaria are not beaten. "You create a god, and you create a monster, no?" he said. "But this pressure is normal for a manager. It's my job. I remember at Roma, Milan, [Real] Madrid, here – it's the same. It's too easy to be the best when you win, but when you lose you lose everything. You live with this pressure and you have to fight, and I'm a fighter."

England have maintained an impressive level of support – a crowd of over 75,000 is expected at Wembley tonight – suggesting the public continue to back Capello despite his side's dismal failure at the World Cup, though the need to start Group G on a positive note is clear. The manager's approach to training or, it seems, tactics has not shifted since those toils yet Gerrard was quick to insist faith is very much retained in a hugely experienced manager who has enjoyed a glittering career at club level.

"I wanted him to stay [after the World Cup] and I have a lot of belief in him," the midfielder said. "It would have been a knee-jerk reaction to sack the manager after one bad tournament and it would have been crazy to think everything would then be rosy starting with a new guy and that we'd go on and win the Euros. It's crazy to think it's as easy as that. It's important that Fabio is still given a chance. For me, he's a fantastic manager.

"People talk about having to have an English manager, but which Englishman out there has the CV that Fabio Capello has got? The communication is not a problem. He talks to the players individually, and the team, and the message does come across. There's a lot of blame being placed on the manager but it was the players who underperformed out in South Africa. People talk about tactics and stuff but there's only so much that a manager can do. The players have to deliver, and the players didn't do that in Africa."

Gerrard conceded that he could not speak for everyone within the England set-up – "How can I know if everyone is totally 100% behind him if I can't control what's going through every player's mind?" – but pointed to a willingness as a group to "put things right together". "He's been the same, and the routines in training are quite similar," he added. "This is a fresh start in terms of going into a new campaign and trying to qualify for a major tournament, even if it's not a fresh start in terms of the management, but it's now up to the players to ease the pressure and take the focus off him."

The team that start against Bulgaria, ranked 43rd in the world, are expected to retain the look of a 4-4-2 with James Milner preferred to Adam Johnson on the left, though Capello suggested the reality of his strategy would be more flexible.

"We will play the 'modern style'," said Capello, who has released the goalkeeper Scott Carson due to a family bereavement and called up Watford's Scott Loach from the Under-21s as cover. "Usually teams play 9-1: all the defenders have to go forward at times and all the forwards have to defend at times. So [Wayne] Rooney has to come back into midfield sometimes. That is what Barcelona do.

"But when you win people say you play the perfect style. When you lose, people question positions on the pitch. My job is to find the best solution."

• Steven Gerrard and Ashley Cole also win Fifa plaudits
• One nominee apiece from underachieving France and Italy

The England World Cup squad returned from their dismal campaign in South Africa to headlines damning a performance in which they displayed "no spark, no spirit, no hope". Wayne Rooney, the Footballer of the Year, had become a "flop" and a truculent one at that, swearing at fans who booed the team off the park following their draw with Algeria at Green Point Stadium, or the "cape of no hope" as the Sun put it.

But today the revisionist view was put forward by no less an authority than Fifa's 16-man technical study group, which included the former France and Liverpool manager Gérard Houllier and the former Scotland manager Andy Roxburgh. Their report said England had in fact been a team with "strong, hard-working players" whose "aerial strength [was] used effectively at set pieces in defence", and they singled out Rooney for praise as a "hard-working, energetic striker; [who] worked hard for the team; good technique" and nominated the goalless centre-forward as one of England's three players of the tournament.

Yet in July, Houllier placed the blame for England's failure firmly at Rooney's door. "The key to understanding why England didn't perform at the World Cup is that the top players didn't do as well as we could expect them to," he said. "I'm thinking mainly about Wayne Rooney."

Houllier's Anfield past may shed some light on the report's acclaim for Steven Gerrard whose tournament started so brightly with his fourth-minute goal against the USA but faded into a series of aimless long-shots and positional incoherence during the 4-1 defeat by Germany.

The England captain was, the report maintains,, the team's most influential player, "a dynamic midfielder with good vision and technique, who linked defence and attack". England's "effective use of full-backs" impressed the group and earned Ashley Cole the final place among the team's three "outstanding players".

Fifa's assessment of the side will raise eyebrows with the long-suffering England faithful – although few could argue with the football governing body's assessment of Spain. The winners were "a complete team, arguably contenders for team of the century", proving the group had not completely lost their minds. But praising England's energy and industry does seem the equivalent of awarding an A for effort to the dullest member of the class. Either that or the report's authors have promising futures as alchemists, having just turned the basest of metals into gold.

• Steven Naismith replaces the Birmingham City striker
• Craig Levein makes eight changes to side beaten in Sweden

James McFadden is the most notable player to pay the penalty for Scotland's dismal friendly showing in Sweden last month, with the Birmingham City man dropped for tomorrow night's Euro 2012 qualifier in Lithuania.

McFadden, an iconic figure for the Scottish support on account of his 15 goals in 46 internationals, has been left out by Craig Levein with the Rangers forward Steven Naismith a surprise starter in support of Kenny Miller, the lone striker. Naismith has opened the season brightly, but has featured just three times before for his country.

David Weir will, as expected, partner Stephen McManus at the heart of the Scotland defence. Alan Hutton's swift return from groin surgery also hands him a place in Levein's starting XI.

Middlesbrough's Barry Robson has been preferred to Graham Dorrans on the left of Levein's midfield. In total, Levein has made eight changes to the side beaten 3-0 in Stockholm.

• Benjani Mwaruwari says there is 'no trust' at Manchester City
• Blackburn Rovers striker says: 'Money is not everything'

The Blackburn Rovers striker Benjani Mwaruwari claims there is "no trust" at his old club Manchester City and that some of their players are motivated primarily by money.

The Zimbabwe international agreed a deal with Rovers last week having been released earlier this summer by City, where he had spent a largely unsuccessful two and a half year stint.

With a raft of expensive new players arriving at Eastlands after he was signed in 2008 by Sven-Goran Eriksson, Benjani, whose time with City was marred by injury, was deemed surplus to requirements by the club's current manager Roberto Mancini.

The 32-year-old forward has now proven his fitness sufficiently to win himself a contract at Ewood Park and while expressing his delight at earning another chance to play in the Premier League, Benjani has also taken the opportunity to fire a parting shot at his former employers.

Asked what it was like to be at City when they were spending so much money, Benjani said: "It sounds great, but in football money is not everything. What is needed is people who can hang around and love you to be there.

"Sometimes you are loved to be there because of money, which is not good. I would prefer to be here without having all those facilities, be happy and trust everyone around you."

Asked if he thought some players at City were interested in money more than anything else, Benjani said: "Yes, it seemed like that and behind the scenes, there is no trust. I would prefer to play for a club where you are being trusted and you trust everyone around you."

• Portugal coach may struggle to keep his job
• Football federation had given him one-month suspension

Portugal's coach, Carlos Queiroz, has been suspended for six months after the country's sports institute ruled that he disrupted an anti-doping test ahead of the World Cup.

The institute, which governs the National Anti-Doping Agency, said an inquiry found that Queiroz insulted an anti-doping team sent to test the Portugal squad before the tournament in South Africa and that his aggressive behaviour disrupted their work.

The institute said it has sent the ruling to the Portuguese football federation, which employs Queiroz. Neither the federation nor Queiroz were immediately available for comment, though the coach has previously denied the charge.

The federation earlier this month suspended Queiroz for one month on a charge of misconduct related to the same incident in May. However, it said that though he had used foul language with the inspectors he had not disrupted the test itself.

An extended suspension will likely put Queiroz's job at risk as he would miss the first four of Portugal's Euro 2012 qualifying games.

The institute's 31-page report said that after hearing evidence from all those involved in the incident it concluded that Queiroz's intimidating behaviour had unsettled the anti-doping team and that, consequently, one of the inspectors failed to carry out a test correctly at the training camp.

None of the players tested positive. Queiroz has said he was angry that the unannounced early morning tests had disturbed the players and admitted that he used inappropriate language.

Last month, Sir Alex Ferguson testified on Queiroz's behalf as a character witness at the federation's own inquiry. Queiroz was previously Ferguson's assistant at Old Trafford.

Queiroz was widely criticised after Portugal produced a disappointing World Cup campaign in South Africa, where they went out in the second round against the eventual champions Spain, and he has suggested that the charges are an attempt to force him out of his job.

Portugal's first qualifying games for the 2012 European Championship are against Cyprus tomorrow and Norway four days later, when Queiroz's assistant Agostinho Oliveira will be in charge. Group H also includes Denmark and Iceland.

• Arsenal not on Mourinho's list of potential winners
• Real manager says he is no longer 'obsessed' by winning titles

José Mourinho does not believe Arsenal are capable of winning the Champions League this season. The Real Madrid coach, speaking to Gazzetta dello Sport, said he thought only seven clubs have a chance of winning European football's premier competition – and Arsène Wenger's team were not among them.

He listed his own side, Real Madrid, among the potential winners along with Barcelona, Internazionale, Milan, Chelsea, Manchester United and last season's runners-up Bayern Munich. "One of these will win," he said. "There could be a surprise like Lyon in the semi-finals last season, maybe Roma, Arsenal, Tottenham or Benfica but it's difficult."

The former Chelsea manager also said he is no longer "obsessed" with winning titles, which might be a good thing since his Real Madrid side could be hard-pressed to challenge Barcelona for the Liga title.

Real opened with a scoreless draw at Mallorca in Mourinho's Spanish league debut last weekend, while the title favourites Barcelona started with a 3-0 win at Racing Santander.

"Barça are a finished product. They could add a name or an idea but that's just perfecting things. At Real there's a feeling of uncertainty and doubts about continuity. In just a few years there have been [Fabio] Capello, [Bernd] Schuster, [Juande] Ramos, [Manuel] Pellegrini and me. You need stability," he said.

"Luckily I'm not obsessed by titles now," the Portuguese coach added. "If I did, I would have stayed at Inter with six competitions available. I would have won three and my career would have been gratified. In Spain I have three competitions and in two of them the Spanish league and the Copa del Rey Barça are the team to beat."

Mourinho added that he still speaks with the Inter president Massimo Moratti weekly, despite bidding the Italian club a teary goodbye after leading it to a treble last season, capped by Inter's first European Cup in 45 years. "We're friends," Mourinho said. "I'm part of his history and he's part of mine."

• Real Madrid deny Redknapp's Bayern claims
• Midfielder 'excited about playing in England'

Rafael van der Vaart's £8m transfer to Tottenham Hotspur from Real Madrid was officially ratified by the Premier League this afternoon but there was some dispute from the Spanish side regarding Harry Redknapp's claim yesterday that Bayern Munich had been prepared to pay £18m for him before the move broke down. The Spurs manager said: "The fee has come crashing down because the deadline is so close."

Real's sports director, Miguel Pardeza, told the club's website: "It is absolutely false that Real Madrid received a €21m offer from Bayern Munich for Van der Vaart. In fact, the German team never showed an interest to sign the player, so the allegations made in England have greatly surprised us." Spurs have no further comment to make.

The club lodged the requisite paperwork with the Premier League close to yesterday's 6pm transfer window deadline and had to wait until today before Van der Vaart was officially confirmed as their player. His signing pushed the defender Jonathan Woodgate out of the 25-man squad for the first half of the league season, which was named by Redknapp today.

The 29-year-old Woodgate has played once in two years for the senior team. His exclusion will fuel speculation that his career may be under serious threat due to a chronic groin problem. Redknapp said last month of the injury: "It's so sad for Jonathan. He's such a good player and a great lad as well. He's been all round the world really, trying to find a cure for this groin problem. He's seen two specialists and he's going to get one more opinion but they seem to be of the opinion that the only chance is an operation."

The Holland playmaker Van der Vaart, who featured in the World Cup final, told Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf: "Four years at Spurs, for €11m, I can hardly believe it myself. The interest from Tottenham came very quickly and I did not have much time to think. But I want to play football again and, if possible, every week, with a beautiful club. I'm totally happy."

He admitted concern regarding where he might fit into Redknapp's team, saying: "I am excited about playing in England. Whether it suits my style remains to be seen but I think a good footballer can adapt and I am very proud of this transfer." Van der Vaart was Redknapp's second signing on deadline day, following the loan deal for the Croatia goalkeeper Stipe Pletikosa.

• Mascherano took pay cut to join Barcelona
• Decision to leave had nothing to do with his family

Javier Mascherano's desperation to leave Liverpool led the Argentina captain to take a pay cut to complete his £20m move to Barcelona. The midfielder has claimed broken promises – and not his family's failure to settle on Merseyside – prompted his decision to force a move from Anfield.

The 26-year-old finally joined the Spanish champions on Monday night following a 12-month transfer pursuit plus a bitter end to his Anfield career, amid suggestions he refused to play in Liverpool's 3-0 defeat at Manchester City to secure an exit. Mascherano rejects that allegation and has denied that his main motivation for leaving Liverpool was to be reunited with his wife and young children, who have lived in Buenos Aires for most of his time on Merseyside.

Instead Mascherano, who was refused a move to Barcelona last summer but promised he could leave if Liverpool received an acceptable offer this year, and who was offered a new contract at Anfield last season, has blamed his former club for the split.

"When they started to involve my family and to say things that didn't make sense, I obviously suffered," he said. "They'd promised me something for a whole year and they never fulfilled their promise. And that didn't have anything to do with my family or anything else. When you read or hear lies, you obviously get angry."

In announcing their agreement with Liverpool last week Barcelona praised "the intensive efforts made by the club in the final hours and through the player himself in the negotiations", and it is understood Mascherano accepted less than his £70,000-a-week wage at Anfield to secure a four-year contract at the Camp Nou. The midfielder said today: "I'd also like to thank the club for their efforts. They've spent a lot of money and it was my duty to give way a bit to make this dream come true. When this chance came up I didn't hesitate. I've joined the best club in the world and the best team in the world."

Mascherano expressed his gratitude to the former Liverpool manager Rafael Benítez for rescuing him from a miserable spell at West Ham United in 2007. He said: "Rafa taught me tactics. He's one of the coaches who have taught me the most in my career and I'm very grateful to him. He was fundamental. He gave me the chance to join Liverpool. He had confidence in me at a time when, perhaps, nobody would have dreamed of giving me an opportunity. I'll be grateful to him all my life."

Liverpool's new £3.5m signing Paul Konchesky is to make his debut in Jamie Carragher's testimonial against an Everton XI at Anfield on Saturday.

After being frozen out at Eastlands the veteran of nearly 80 caps is enjoying life at Bolton

The impression left by Martin Petrov is of a man who, once again, has discovered job satisfaction. Sometimes in football it is better to take a downward step, to swallow a bit of pride if necessary, if it means being in an environment that feels right, and Petrov's body language, as a Bolton Wanderers player, is markedly different now from those difficult days at Manchester City when he had begun to feel unloved and unwanted.

It has been two months since the Bulgarian signed for Bolton, having come to the end of his contract at City and having found out the hard way that they would not be offering him a new one (Roberto Mancini, Petrov says, simply stopped talking to him).

It represents a downgrade in terms of the clubs' fanbase and ambitions but is not one that bothers him. Petrov has immediately established himself as a first-team pick, offering width and penetration on the left of Bolton's attack. The knee problem that troubled him at Eastlands has been resolved and, by his own admission, there is an inner desire to show that City made a mistake by not trusting him.

"Everyone knows that they want to make a big club with the money," he says. "They have brought in so many players and spent so much but I don't think, in this world, that everything necessarily comes with money."

Fit and confident, Petrov certainly threatens to be a difficult opponent for England's right-back, Glen Johnson, when Bulgaria play at Wembley tomorrow. It is, in theory, a good time to play England and the 31-year-old understands the theory that says Fabio Capello's side might be ripe for an upset, even if Bulgaria's talisman, Dimitar Berbatov, has stated he no longer wants to play for his national team.

"For us that is very hard because he is the top scorer in the team," Petrov, a close friend of the Manchester United striker, says. "He rang me to say he was going to retire but I didn't ask him for an explanation because it's personal and I'm not family. Everyone wants Berba back in the team but I don't think it will happen now."

Petrov has had his own issues. "Hard and frustrating" are the words he uses to describe his final year as City, nursing a bad knee and an even worse grudge about the way he was overlooked by Mark Hughes and, latterly, Mancini. Sour grapes, you can imagine City saying in response, but Petrov says there is more to it.

"I went to see Mancini in January to ask about my future because my contract was up in June. He said it wasn't the right time and 'let's talk in two weeks' but after that there was nothing. Nobody spoke to me about my future again. Nobody looked me in the eyes and said: 'Martin, thank you for your time, you are a very professional player.'

"It surprised me. I am not an 18-year-old, I am a 31-year-old who has played in different countries and for my national team, so I think that I have a reasonably good name and deserved to hear something."

The low point came after surgery to repair the meniscus cartilage in his knee. "After that I didn't play another game and just worked alone. That was a very difficult time for me. I am 31, old in football terms, and when you have an operation, your contract is finished and the league is over, it's not good. The first question other clubs asked me was always: 'Are you OK now?'"

Owen Coyle, transforming Bolton into a more attractive passing side, was among those who recognised the potential for a bargain. "I can remember how Bolton used to play," Petrov says, gesturing a ball going over his head. "But when they spoke to me they made it clear they wanted to try to play more football; that helped me to make up my mind."

Since then there have been no regrets. "Everybody knows we don't have big names from the Champions League but it's a close-knit club and Owen Coyle is like a father to the players, always talking to everyone, checking everything is OK."

In return Petrov offers Bolton pace and penetration, an experienced international who will be making his 79th appearance for his country tomorrow.

"There's pressure for us, too, because we want to qualify [for Euro 2012] but there is more for England," he says. "Everyone knows that England have big names and very good players but I don't think they have a team. I don't know why. If you take out each player and analyse them individually, they are very good players. They have a big manager, too, but they just don't do it. It is a difficult time for England now and maybe that will be good for us."