"I felt really down two years ago. But the pride is now back among the team, we are enjoying playing for England again. After the Croatia game two years ago, we had to rebuild our levels of performances and our confidence," said the Liverpool captain.
"If we keep moving forward in the right direction - as we are now - I'm confident that we can achieve something going into the World Cup next year under Capello.
"I feel great that we have qualified. It's nice to get the qualification out of the way early. To qualify so early and win a game so comfortably makes me feel more confident about the way we are going forward as a team."