Although the Three Lions were not badly outclassed by Spain in Seville on Wednesday, there was a clear difference in quality.

And, aside from the obvious confidence that comes from being Euro 2008 winners, Capello feels the edge is down to being comfortable on the ball.

So while the Italian feels England have proved their worth against northern European opposition, with whom they share the same high tempo approach, he thinks there are some valuable lessons to be learned about dealing with the more rhythmic and patient Latin Americans.

"We had as many chances to score but Spain played better because possession is very important to them," observed Capello.

"All their players are technically very good. It is very difficult to win back the ball.

"Normally my team imposes its own style on the opposition. This time we didn't. It was the worst part of the game.

"Our style is fine against a lot of teams. But when we play against South American teams we have to understand what to do."

The challenge of finding the extra five percent that turns good teams into champions is not insurmountable, even if it would be wrong to cite the absence of Wayne Rooney and Steven Gerrard as the difference.

Such an important pair were missed but the physical demands of the Premier League mean someone else will likely be missing when England meet again for the friendly with Slovakia which precedes the Ukraine showdown by four days.

It was neither an excuse nor a criticism when Capello observed he had insufficient time to prepare for a test of such magnitude. Having to bring the flight forward from Tuesday lunchtime to Monday evening to avoid the inclement weather back home hardly helped either.

But the brutal truth is that England are presently operating at a level below where Spain are just now, even if Capello is hungrily devouring every snippet of information to get his team in better shape for the tests that lie ahead.

"It is not a step backwards, it is one step forward," said Capello.

"You learn more in defeat and yes, this could be our most important lesson of the year.

"When you play against Spain everyone understands you can lose sometimes. In the future I hope we will win."