Capello hails Rooney focus

Speculation has swirled about the Manchester United striker's state of mind after newspaper allegations about his private life were published on Sunday.

But Rooney delivered an assured performance in Basel, notching his first England goal in 12 matches to open the scoring.

"I had seen he had been okay in training, now he plays an official game really well," said Capello.

"The players want to play without other things on their minds. They can focus on the game alone. He did that.

"At the end, he was really happy."

Capello appears to have found a position that can get the maximum from the Manchester United forward.

Playing in a deeper role, behind a lone striker - first Jermain Defoe, then Darren Bent after the Tottenham man was forced off with an ankle injury that Capello claimed "was not serious" - Rooney revelled in the space, just as he had done against Bulgaria at Wembley on Friday.

"Wayne Rooney played very well," said Capello. "(Mentally) he was okay and scoring the goal helped too.

"This position is good for him. It is easy for him to get into positions to shoot."