James, at 39, happy to finally play in World Cup

Cape Town: Amid the England gloom, there was one player in the Three Lions` kit holding his head high after

his country`s disappointing 0-0 draw against Algeria. David James, after three World Cups as a backup, and two decades as a professional goalkeeper, made his debut on football`s grandest stage. And despite some early nerves, the 39-year-old Englishman kept a clean sheet yesterday. Now he wants to stay between the posts. "It`s been a long time," said James, who replaced Robert Green in the lineup after Green`s dreadful mistake that allowed the United States to draw with England 1-1 in their opening match last week. "Three attempts to play at my first game! So that was nice. But any initial feeling was put aside and I focused on trying to win the match." That, England failed to do as it`s star-studded attack of Wayne Rooney, Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard fizzled against the dogged defense of Algeria, which was fighting to stay alive. But unlike the game against the Americans last week, this time the goalkeeper couldn`t be blamed. "Defensively we were very good," James said. "Algeria likewise were very good defensively. Unfortunately for the spectators it turned out to be pretty miserable 0-0 draw." The Portsmouth captain once known as "Calamity James" for his penchant for mistakes, had an early scare when he chose to punch a seemingly harmless Algeria cross as it sailed toward the goal-line. Instead of punching over, he knocked it straight up and kept the ball in play. The England defense recovered and cleared. He was more assured in the second half, as England`s defense clamped down and prevented Algeria from any shots on goal. Though he once left his line hesitantly on a long pass cleared by defender Jamie Carragher, his confidence grew with the match and his presence seemed to assure the England rear guard. "It was a very tough game," James said. "They went out not to beaten, it seemed. And they achieved that." James said he sympathized with Green, who was benched after fumbling Clint Dempsey`s tame 25-yard-shot into the goal in England`s opening match. But James said he would now concentrate on training hard and trying to win a place in coach Fabio Capello`s squad for England`s must-win match on Wednesday against Slovenia. "The fact that I was playing today doesn`t mean that I will play in the next match," he said. "It`s nice to play, it`s nice to keep a clean sheet defensively. It was a decent performance. We train hard now for a few days, and we wait for the selection five minutes before we leave before the game on Wednesday." PTI