England still undecided on goalkeeper

Wembley: With nearly two weeks to go before the World Cup, England coach Fabio Capello seemingly has no idea who will be his first-choice goalkeeper.

Robert Green, who played the first half in England's 3-1 win over Mexico and made two close-range saves, said not knowing has sparked a "healthy" competition between him, Joe Hart and David James.

"In international football, chances don't come along very often," Green said after making his 10th England appearance on Monday. "We're all in the running and it shouldn't be any other way. It's something that's healthy where we keep pushing each other."

Hart, who was on loan at Birmingham from Manchester City this past season, took over for Green in the second half.

"I'm still looking over my shoulder," said Hart, who has no clue who Capello will pick as the No. 1 goalkeeper for England's opening match against the United States on June 12.

"I couldn't tell you," Hart said. "He keeps his cards very close to his chest. I think everyone's done well and had their chance."

James had been Capello's first choice and has 49 England appearances, but the Portsmouth 'keeper is injury-prone and turns 40 just after the World Cup. Ben Foster, who was among the leading backups, was dropped from Capello's 30-man squad.

Green and Hart, meanwhile, have gone from backups to potential starters at a time when English goalkeeping, the envy of the world in the days of Gordon Banks and Peter Shilton, appears to be at its lowest. The situation has been so unpredictable that even Spanish-born goalkeeper Manuel Almunia was being mentioned as a possibility at one time because he qualifies for British citizenship and has not played for Spain.

The goalkeeper position has been one of Capello's main concerns since he signed up as coach and he has experimented throughout his tenure. He continued to generate suspense after Monday's game.

"I'm happy with the performance of Green, and Hart also played well," the Italian coach said, declining to say if he was any closer to naming his first-choice goalkeeper.