Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson says England's goalkeeping future is Carling Cup hero Ben Foster.

Ferguson insists Foster remains England's best bet as a long-term goalkeeping replacement for David James.

And, with Fabio Capello watching from the stands, the 25-year-old proved why his manager has so much faith in him.

"The future is his," said Ferguson. "The present belongs to Edwin van der Sar, that's obvious.

"But, given that experience in a final, it strengthens my belief Ben will be England's goalkeeper for the next number of years.

"He is a very strong character. He has to be to have come through two cruciate knee injuries. It takes a tremendous amount of sacrifice to get through that and recover to do what he did today.

"It is difficult to keep them all patient. But there's no other way."