Having knocked out holders and arch rival Real Madrid in the last eight, Barcelona comfortably disposed of Spain's third-strongest side 3-1 on aggregate as it bids to extend its national record for domestic Spanish Cup triumphs to 26.

Lionel Messi sent Fabregas clear to score the opener in the 16th minute at the Nou Camp, the former Arsenal captain beating his marker to the bouncing ball before lifting it superbly over Valencia goalkeeper Diego Alves.

Valencia had two chances for an equalizer in quick succession at the start of the second half before Alves, who saved a Messi penalty in the first leg, was twice called upon to deny the Argentine with excellent reaction saves.

Valencia's comeback hopes were dashed when midfielder Sofiane Feghouli was dismissed for a second yellow card 13 minutes from time before Xavi ran on to a Fabregas pass and smashed the ball high into the net to make it 2-0 on the night.

"It's been a very long road against some very tough teams but we want to be in all the finals we possibly can," Fabregas said. "It's going to be a great final because Bilbao have some fantastic players and we'll have to be at our best," he added of the title match, the date and location of which have yet to be confirmed by the Spanish soccer federation.

Capello quit on Wednesday following a disagreement with FA Chairman David Bernstein, who had stripped John Terry of the England captaincy.

"There is clearly a preference for an Englishman," Bernstein said. "There is a preference for an English person or a British person, but in the end we want the best person. Clearly an English or a British person would have a good start of the matter."

England players Rio Ferdinand and Wayne Rooney have already called on the FA to hire Redknapp, a Londoner who is the manager at Tottenham Hotspur.

"We can't be driven by that," Bernstein said. "We have to put a proper shortlist together ... we don't want to rush anything. There's no need to rush anything. We'll give it proper consideration and it'll have high priority."

England under-21 coach Stuart Pearce will take charge of England's friendly against the Netherlands on February 29. England's Euro 2012 opener is on June 11 against France.

Redknapp said talk of him taking the England job was premature. "I haven't even thought about it," Redknapp said, adding that he was fully focused on continuing the Premier League title push. "We have a big game on Saturday (against Newcastle)."

Terry is accused of racially abusing Anton Ferdinand during Chelsea's league game at Queens Park Rangers in October and is now facing a criminal trial.

Capello said Terry should have been allowed to lead the side since his trial for racially abusing an opponent is not scheduled until after the June 8-July 1 tournament.

The FA decided on a more cautious approach, leaving Terry available for selection but removing him as the team's figurehead. That was not acceptable for Capello, who voiced his opposition on Italian television.

Prime Minister David Cameron said he was "sorry to see Fabio go" after four years. "He was a good coach and a good man," Cameron said. "I don't think he was right about the John Terry issue. You can't be captain with that question mark that needs to be answered."

Despite that, and despite setting a quickest lap that was meaningless on a day when rivals were trying out their new cars, the German still played down his title chances. The seven-time world champion pounded out 132 laps, with a best time of one minute 18.561 seconds, to gather tire data on the new Pirelli rubber.

Mercedes has decided not to run its 2012 car until the second pre-season test in Barcelona later this month to give it as much development time as possible.

"It (bringing the car out late) maybe is an important factor because we have worked longer on our car," the 43-year-old Schumacher told reporters.

"As I said before, I don't think we can realistically achieve a championship car from where we started last year. We have to build our way there. I'm confident we can do that, in future, but let's take it step by step," said the German, who has not been on the podium since he began his comeback in 2010. Schumacher said reliability was the main focus and Mercedes hoped to have learnt from the past. "Our program is done in a way that we believe in it," he added.

Lin had 23 points and a career-high 10 assists in New York's 107-93 win over the Washington Wizards on Wednesday.

Late in the third quarter with the Knicks up by four, Lin drove past three Wizards players and suddenly was alone in front of the hoop. He slammed it through with his right hand.

"Just one of those in-a-moment things," Lin said. "They messed up on their coverage, so I was able to get free."

In his previous two games, Lin had 25 points against New Jersey and 28 more against Utah in his first start - both wins. Now, the Harvard graduate had to go on the road, but instead of facing a hostile crowd, Lin found an adoring one.

The fans cheered louder for Lin than for any other player in introductions, waving flags and signs, including one that read: "Linning and Grinning."

Undrafted

By the time the game ended, the crowd was chanting for him as he walked off the floor.

"Like I said after the last game, I wouldn't have imagined this," said Lin, who was undrafted in 2010 and played his rookie season in Golden State. "Thanks to them for coming out and they came out strong for the Knicks tonight," he added. "We had a lot of energy that came from them."

With their two leading scorers missing, Carmelo Anthony gone for a week or two with a strained right groin and Amare Stoudemire mourning the loss of his brother, New York desperately needed Lin's scoring this time around.

He didn't single-handedly make up for the 40 points that Anthony and Stoudemire provide, but sure energized the decidedly pro-New York crowd.

Wizards coach Randy Wittman knew about Lin from his son, Ryan, who played for Cornell. He sent his father a sarcastic message during the game. "He told me that they did a much better job guarding him than we did tonight," Wittman said. "I already had that text message before the game was over. Makes Dad feel good."

Lin scored on a bank shot to start the third quarter, and after Washington scored the next 10 points for a 56-54 lead, he hit four free throws, another layup and a right-handed dunk with 2:59 left to give the Knicks a 72-66 lead. He made another layup to end the quarter with 12 points, and a 77-68 New York advantage.

The Wizards narrowed the deficit to 79-72, but Lin helped give New York a 103-85 lead with 3:22 to play.