Quins centre De Wet Barry went over for a consolation injury-time score, and his side will take plenty of positives from a brave performance at the Stade Jean Bouin.
In Ferdinand's absence, Capello's captain on the field will be Liverpool midfielder Steven Gerrard, who is expected to partner Frank Lampard in the centre of midfield with Barry unavailable.
They were almost caught napping early on when Barry Bannan slid a ball inside right-back Wes Brown to find Stewart Downing and it needed centre-back Rio Ferdinand to come across and clear out the danger.