Despite being trashed 4-1 by a young German side England coach Fabio Capello refused to blame his players for their defeat and instead focused on the decision to disallow Frank Lampard’s equalising goal.
Germany outplayed England and the Three Lions were 2-1 down when Lampard’s effort hit the underside of Manuel Neuer’s bar and bounced down a clear yard over the line.
Assistant referee Mauricio Espinosa failed to spot it, though, and instead of drawing level at 2-2, England capitulated in the second half to lose 4-1, their worst ever World Cup defeat.
Capello told BBC1 : “It was one of the most important things in the game,”.
“The goal was very important. We could have played a different style.
“We played I think well at 2-1, but after the third goal it was a little bit disappointing.
“We played well. Germany is a big team. They played a good game. We made some mistakes when they played the counter-attack. The referee made bigger mistakes.
“Little things decide the result always.”