Robert Green 'could have been finished' by World Cup blunder, says Ray Clemence

By Matt Lawton for the Daily Mail Updated:

Ray Clemence feared Rob Green's life 'would have been in tatters' had Fabio Capello not dropped him at the World Cup.

England's goalkeeping coach says he felt Green was one mistake away from having his career ruined after his nightmare blunder during the opening game against the United States in South Africa.

Howler: Robert Green reacts to his mistake against the USA at the World Cup

Howler: Robert Green reacts to his mistake against the USA at the World Cup

Green, 30, is back in the England squad for the first time since making the mistake that enabled Clint Dempsey to secure a shock draw for the Americans. Clemence said Capello made the right decision in dropping him for the Algeria game that followed.

Clemence said: 'There was so much pressure on the boy that if, God forbid, he had made another mistake, his life would have been in tatters; for the rest of his life. So Fabio made the decision that he would go back to David James.'

Clemence recalled the mood in the England dressing at half-time, shortly after Green had committed his error.

'I look at a player in the dressing room at half-time and see whether I think he's in control of everything,' said Clemence. 

Back in form: Green makes a spectacular save against Spurs last week

Back in form: Green makes a spectacular save against Spurs last week

'I looked at Rob and what I didn't want to do was walk across to him in a dressing room of 23 players and make a big fuss of him. I could see there was disappointment on his face but he wasn't a mess. I just had a quiet word with him and I got the response I expected. He said, "I'm fine, I know what I've got to do".

'In the second half he did what he had to do. He made a save at the end which nobody ever speaks about, when we could have lost the game 2-1.'

Clemence is glad to see Green back in Capello's squad for next week's European Championship qualifier against Montenegro and said: 'Rob's a good goalkeeper, otherwise he wouldn't have gone to the World Cup. I've seen the last two games he's played and he's done very well.'


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