England players on Tuesday hit back at Franz Beckenbauer after the German World Cup legend accused them of going backwards in their development and reverting to a basic kick and run style.

Beckenbauer's comments came in South Africa newspaper The Times after England were held to a 1-1 draw by the United States, saying: "What I saw of the English against the US had very little to do with football. It looked to me as if the English have gone backwards into the bad old days of kick and rush."

However England defenders Matthew Upson and Matthew Dawson gave Beckenbauer short shrift.

West Ham defender Upson, one of the contenders to replace injured Ledley King when England face Algeria in Cape Town on Friday, said he was happy to ignore Beckenbauer's comments.

"If that's what he feels about our style of play that's his opinion," he said.

"It's all about winning something. If we are accused of kicking and running and we win something then I don't think that will be taken into account. We'll play the football that suits us best and if it means we win games we'll play according to that."

Dawson, the Tottenham defender called up to the squad at the last minute when Rio Ferdinand was ruled out, said his teammates were world class.

"You can't really take too much notice. Everybody's got an opinion. You look at the players in and around the England squad and they are world class, so we'll just concentrate on ourselves at this moment in time," said Dawson.

Both defenders claim confidence remains high in the England camp despite the performance against the US and are backing goalkeeper Robert Green, whose terrible error gifted Clint Dempsey a crucial equaliser.

"Is Robert ready to play? One hundred per cent," said Upson.

"I think he's handled the mistake really well. It's happened but at the moment he's totally focused. We don't feel any extra pressure because I think every game is high pressure if you play for England in a World Cup. If we relax and play our football I think we'll do a good job."

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