Gilberto Silva shocked at England's poor passing

WORLD Cup-winner Gilberto Silva last night admitted he was surprised at sloppy England’s dismal defeat in Doha.

Fabio Capello’s men were outclassed by the Brazilians in a friendly which put England’s World Cup chances into stark perspective.

But former Arsenal midfielder Gilberto, a member of Brazil’s 2002 World Cup winning team, confessed he was shocked at how many times England gave the ball away.

England boss Capello threw several touchline strops as his players took it in turns to misplace passes, mis-control the ball and hand the initiative to Brazil.

It left Gilberto admitting that he was surprised that England did not give Brazil coach Dunga’s World Cup hopefuls a better game in Doha.

Gilberto said: “To be honest, I was surprised at how often they gave the ball away. They usually take advantage when they have the ball, you know. But at some moments they gave it away quite easily.

“But, I think it was also because we were very well positioned and didn’t give them too many chances up front. Dunga had told us that, if you give them chances to play, they will create opportunities.

“I think that, in general, it was a very good game, you know? Even though we won the game, we missed a penalty.

“England did a very good job. Maybe they feel a bit the heat, you know. It was quite hot.

“But, also, we did play well - we kept the ball, passed and moved, controlled the pace of the game, sometimes slow, sometimes quick. We created some chances until we scored.”

Gilberto also warned that Brazil had struck a psychological blow against one of their main World Cup rivals by beating England.

“For us it’s very important,” he said. “For us, we can see a bit how England play. But, of course we know that every game we have we must learn from. We are starting our preparations for South Africa. We are looking forward to what we want to achieve.”

Gilberto believes Brazil - without Robinho - can still play a lot better than in Doha and says they will get a lot better. But Gilberto also believes England will improve once they get their big names back from injury in the build-up to South Africa.

Gilberto said: “We were comfortable and confident to play. But we knew that if we missed our chances, if we didn’t defend well - as we did - we might be caught.

“Up front and in the middle of the park, England do have quality players who can make a difference in the game.

“I think, from now on, everyone will look to improve. Even ourselves. Of course, we are playing well at the moment but we’re not satisfied yet.

“We want to improve game by game and, from now on, it’ll be very difficult to meet up. We only have two more games before the World Cup. But we’ll do the best to be at the World Cup in our best form.

“I think, for England it was quite hard. They missed some important players. When they come back, that will be very important for their squad.”

Gilberto also had praise for England’s newly crowned skipper Wayne Rooney who wore the armband with pride in Doha.

It has been two years since Gilberto left Arsenal and the Premier League but the Brazilian midfielder says Rooney has improved dramatically.

Gilberto added: “Of course, of course, he’s improved. He's more mature, he’s got more experience and that’s natural, you know. Not only from him, but some of the other players too.”