The stern face of Fabio Capello, his jaw set in a smile-free zone, stared down at England fans from a giant poster as they made their way to Wembley in the evening sunshine yesterday.

His hands clamped behind his back, he looked less like a manager keen to rally the fans for England's World Cup send-off against Mexico and more like a judge ready to hand down his sentence.

Absolutely right, too.

This time, England aren't going to the World Cup to see how much spare time they can wangle with their wives and girlfriends.

They're not going to be spending their days off trying to decide whether it ought to be Gucci or Prada. Or both.

They're not going to be sitting at their base near Rustenburg wondering whether their partner is at a bar round the corner, dancing on the tables.

And they're not going to find themselves at a barbecue at the team hotel which has been organised by the boss's wife.

That's why Capello wasn't smiling on that giant poster. Because now isn't the time for parties or celebrations or black-tie balls.

Because this time, it's not about fashion or glamour or escaping the paparazzi. This time, it's serious.

That's why the mood music was subdued last night even though it was England's last home game before they fly to South Africa next week.

The crowd were provided with a mixture of red and white t-shirts so the cameras could get a nice shot of the spectators from the air, arranged in the shape of the Cross of St George.

But that was about as close to fanfare as it got. There was a lap of honour at the end but there was something awkward and half-hearted about it. It didn't fit the occasion.

It was right that there was no triumphalism, no questions about when the victory parade through the streets of London would be.

And in his programme notes, Capello kept his promises to a minimum and his rhetoric firmly in check.

"The challenge is a big one," he wrote, "but that is what keeps you alive. To try to do something special is why I am here and, together with my staff, we will do everything we can to achieve our goal."

Capello's reserve is exactly what England needs with their opening group game against the USA less than three weeks away.

Last night's World Cup warm-up against Mexico showed there is still plenty of work to be done if England are to consider themselves genuine challengers for the trophy.

There are certainly no grounds for getting carried away. England looked good going forward and there were encouraging performances from Theo Walcott, Peter Crouch and, as a raiding right full-back, Glen Johnson.

But England also looked worryingly vulnerable at the back and shorn of inspiration in the centre of midfield. Michael Carrick may have played himself off the plane to South Africa and James Milner did not inspire as the man who might be the first choice to play alongside Frank Lampard if today's bulletin on Gareth Barry brings bad news.

But these matches are occasions that must be survived as much as opportunities to excel. It is still early in England's preparations and another week of intensive training at England's Austrian base in Irdning lies ahead.

If things go England's way, if Barry returns to fitness in time and skipper Rio Ferdinand regains his sharpness, if Wayne Rooney stays fit, then England should still mount a formidable challenge.

They missed their Chelsea contingent, who were rested after the FA Cup final, badly last night and the return of John Terry and Ashley Cole will transform a defence that looked fragile and sluggish.

The rest of the world will not be afraid, necessarily, but they will be wary. No-one will go into a game against Capello's England too confident of victory.

And what we can be sure of this time is that the preparations will be right and that the distractions will be kept to a minimum.

England's base on the edge of the dusty little mining community of Phokeng with its roadside stalls and its Chicken Licken fast food outlet will not offer the bars and designer boutiques of Baden-Baden but it will be a citadel of concentration on the job in hand.

This time, there are no mobile phones at dinner, time in the games room is rationed and the Wags are only permitted fleeting visits on the day after games.

Many of them appear to have been so discouraged by the lack of creature comforts in the industrial landscape surrounding England's base that they're not bothering to go anyway.

This time, it's about football, not celebrity. If England fail, they will fail for the right reasons.