England coach Fabio Capello is pleased with the emergence of Manchester United pair Phil Jones and Chris Smalling.

He believes the overall balance of his squad is far better than when he took charge almost four years ago.

"I am happy with my players," he said. "I have a lot of confidence in them.

"There are not many young players in the world who are better than the English ones.

"But you need to wait until the end of the season to understand if they are at the top and ready to play with the seniors.

"We had a gap between the oldest and the young. Now, with people like Wilshere, Jones, (Danny) Welbeck, (Daniel) Sturridge - it's really interesting.

"It will be a really good team for the next Euros."