Capello says England must make World Cup semis

England manager Fabio Capello has set England the target of at least reaching the semi-finals of the World Cup and says that getting them there is the "most important" challenge of his life.

He also said that his dream final would be England against Italy, but declared he would have no divided loyalties. "My shirt at that moment will be an England shirt," he announced.

However, Capello has admitted that one aspect of the job had caught him off-guard - the media attention lavished on the team and the players. The Italian has been forced to strip his captain John Terry of the armband after he was exposed as having had an affair with another player's ex-girlfriend and has seen several of his squad appear on the front pages of the newspapers since he took over. This week he has also been shocked by newspaper reports that the squad's hotel was bugged before the friendly against Egypt.

"It is a surprise to see the attention on things off the pitch because, usually, my job has been to decide things on the pitch, so that is new," he said.

Things will escalate as the World Cup approaches, but the Italian will be in familiar territory once the squad assembles at the end of the season before heading to South Africa. And Capello appears to be looking forward to getting away from the media hype, and says that once the tournament gets under way his job will be more like that of a club manager.

"The big difference in managing a national team is that it is a psychological job," he explained. "During qualifying there is a short time in training. It is more important to train the mind, find the confidence, create the group and create the winning mentality."

Capello does have concerns about when exactly he will be able to get his squad together. England have a pre-tournament training camp scheduled to begin on May 17 in Austria. That will give most players the chance to have a couple of days rest after the end of the Premier League season. However the FA Cup final is two days earlier on May 15 and the Champions League final, which could feature two English teams, is the following Saturday on May 22.

But despite all the complications Capello, who is 63, says he is enjoying his job and even suggested it was helping him keep old age at bay. "It is new to me. At my age you need a challenge or you just stay home or go on holiday. This is the most important challenge of my life," he said. ·