Cometh the hour: England manager Fabio Capello and Germany coach Joachim Löw prepare to go head-to head

In the context of English paranoia about penalty shoot-outs, it was a decidedly provocative move. Why had Löw refused to face the global media before such a momentous game? Why was Philipp Lahm, the captain, also not in attendance? Why pick Köpke ahead of assistant Hansi Flick, when the connotations were obvious?

England responded by making a show of introducing manager Fabio Capello, and Steven Gerrard, the captain, before delivering a deliberately abrogated briefing, fielding questions exclusively from the English media.

Germany claimed Löw did not have time to attend the briefing, despite running a training session just five minutes away, and the suggestion, denied by Köpke, was that it was a protest at not being allowed to use the Free State Stadium pitch to train. England were also denied access to the pitch, so trained at Rustenburg before flying down to Bloemfontein in the afternoon.

Fifa contacted the German Football Federation on Saturday night to remind them of their media responsibilities but are unlikely to take further action.

Following on from Franz Beckenbauer’s controversial assessment of England as a “burnt-out” team that plays “kick and rush” football, Capello will have little trouble finding material for his team-talk.

The England manager confirmed that he has only one selection issue to resolve: whether to recall Jamie Carragher, back from suspension, in place of Matthew Upson. Ledley King is not yet ready for consideration.

Capello also downplayed fears over Wayne Rooney’s fitness by insisting his ankle was strong enough to withstand 120 minutes of football, even on the rock-hard surface at the Free State Stadium.

“He’s fit, no problems,” Capello said. “The ankle is perfect.

“Rooney is training really well. He shot well and scored a lot of goals in training. We hope tomorrow he’ll be the same. He didn’t score for a while, but he’s always important with his movement, the assists for the other players and everything he does in the game. I’m confident he can be back to his best.”

Capello has admitted his team played with the “fear of the World Cup” in their first two games, but thinks the Slovenia performance has re-energised his squad.

“This is a very important game. It will be one of the most important because we want to go forward. I know the value of Germany, but I also know the value of my players.