Title: England Watch
Zurawski - March 23, 2005 08:01 AM (GMT)
Could be useful to keep up to date with our biggest rival in the pool, so I'll post any relevant information about the English squad.
First Up:
Andrew Johnson to miss upcoming qualifier due to an ankle injury
http://www.soccerway.com/news/full/?page=d...area=1111523002Beckham is returning from injury also so perhaps he may be a bit rusty.
No word on the starters, be here is the England squad:
GOALKEEPERS: Paul Robinson, David James, Robert Green
DEFENDERS: John Terry, Ledley King, Jamie Carragher, Ashley Cole, Rio Ferdinand, Gary Neville, Wes Brown, Phil Neville
MIDFIELDERS: David Beckham, Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, Stewart Downing, Owen Hargreaves, Joe Cole, Kieron Dyer, Jermaine Jenas
FORWARDS: Andy Johnson, Michael Owen, Jermain Defoe, Wayne Rooney, Emile Heskey
http://newpaper.asia1.com.sg/sports/story/...6,85032,00.htmlthis is minus Johnson of course, Heskey is thought to take his spot instead. for the matches, but no starters announced yet.
I have a good feeling about this match, No. Ireland could pull off an upset with Johnson injured and Beckham returning from injury, and the English are likely already looking past this match, let's hope!
Neo - March 23, 2005 07:40 PM (GMT)
Rooney facing charges, if he is found guilty in court he could be suspended, although with his money I'm sure they'd work out some pay-off before that ever happened.
http://msn.foxsports.com/soccer/story/3485926| QUOTE |
Police began an investigation Wednesday into allegations that England and Manchester United star Wayne Rooney assaulted a student in a nightclub.
Greater Manchester police said they were investigating claims by 22-year-old Patrick Hanrahan that Rooney punched him three times in the head early Tuesday morning in the Tiger Tiger bar.
"He went absolutely crazy and swung his arms at me," Hanrahan was quoted as saying Tuesday in The Sun newspaper. "He landed three punches - two on top of my head and one on the right side of my forehead."
Rooney is eligible for Saturday's game under new Football Association rules for players under police investigation. Players can only be suspended from representing England if found guilty of an offense in court.
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tedski - March 23, 2005 08:58 PM (GMT)
how i would love the irish to beat or even draw with the angols but somehow i cant see it,now as daft as this may sound i hope the angols go into the aber game over confident as if they do i think they will get a big surprise ;)
Neo - March 23, 2005 09:19 PM (GMT)
The great thing about our group is we have N.Ireland, Wales, and England. You can bet Ireland and Wales are going to want to beat the English for bragging rights. I wouldn't be surprised if an upset occurs at the hands of the either of the two. Azerbaijan I'm not sure how much of a threat they can be, but I think they have less of a chance of getting anything done, regardless how overconfident England is.
tedski - March 24, 2005 08:20 PM (GMT)
only another 12hours to go and im off in my car to luton to meet my mate marek,its getting close my friends!! ill try and get some good snaps,depends how much zywiec i consume :lol2:
tedski - March 24, 2005 08:21 PM (GMT)
by the way im going for a 3-1 polska :soccer2:
tedski - March 24, 2005 08:23 PM (GMT)
think i should have put that on the other thread,sorry chaps!
Neo - March 26, 2005 03:58 PM (GMT)
0:0 after 45 minutes, Northern Ireland with tonnes of luck so far, let's hope they can build on it! Their defense and goalkeeping has been good as well
Neo - March 26, 2005 04:08 PM (GMT)
Bloody hell. 46' Cole scores on a horrible Irish giveaway right in front of their own net. England leads 1:0
Neo - March 26, 2005 04:13 PM (GMT)
52' - Owen scores and it is 2:0 England. Damn Ireland
Neo - March 26, 2005 04:15 PM (GMT)
54' - Owen scores again. 3:0 England. A goal from a horrible angle that never should have gone in. This is getting ugly, why did I ever put faith in this joke of an Irish squad?
Upon further note, the goal seems to have gone in off of an Irish defender who deflected it into his own net, the own goal has been given to Baird.
Neo - March 26, 2005 04:30 PM (GMT)
62' - The Irish AGAIN score on themselves, 4:0. The Irish defender attempted to head the ball away and instead headed it into his own net, lovely. Lampard gets credit for the goal.
Zurawski - March 28, 2005 08:56 PM (GMT)
Well this is a bit troubling for sure, and it's sure to get England fired up
http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2002390...5140536,00.html| QUOTE |
England only managed to beat the Azeris 1-0 in the tooth of a hurricane in Baku in October — but Carlos Alberto has done his best to make the Three Lions angry before the return match.
He predicts England will be overhauled by Poland and have to try to qualify for Germany through the play-offs.
The Azerbaijan boss said: “Poland are a better team. They have to be favourites to win the group.
“English club football is good but it’s not a fair representation because there are so many foreign players.
“It’s great to see Poland play such attractive football.
“I have seen one of the real contenders for the World Cup here. Poland are the sort of team the finals needs.
“But I’m very upset with my team. If we play like that I’m afraid England might score 10.” |
England will come out fired up, ready to prove they can match Poland's 8 goals while Azerbaijan will fight to not be embarrassed again, what kind of result do you think we will get?
Likely it will not be as high as 8-0, I am calling for a 4-0 match again for England. Azerbaijan will be fighting for their pride too much to get embarrassed again moreso than the English's need for a good score.
Zurawski - March 28, 2005 09:12 PM (GMT)
The English are going to go with the same lineup they had in the Azerbaijan match
http://wwiii.sbs.com.au/wcup/index.php3?id=56052| QUOTE |
Sven-Goran Eriksson will field the same team that demolished Northern Ireland when England meet Azerbaijan in Wednesday's World Cup qualifier.
Saturday's emphatic 4-0 victory at Old Trafford saw England sparkle in all departments and particularly in midfield, where Joe Cole looked very much like the answer to a long-running problem on the left side.
Ruling out any unforced changes to his line-up in Newcastle after the goal blitz in Manchester, Eriksson told reporters: "I think that if they are fit, they deserve to start another game."
"We could have scored more. We are a very confident team, with a lot of players in good form, so I only hope we can go on like this." |
Neo - March 28, 2005 09:57 PM (GMT)
Owen confirms that expectations are higher and there is going to be more pressure on the English squad on Wednesday.
http://www2.sbs.com.au/home/index.php3?id=56083| QUOTE |
"Winning the game is the most important thing but if there is the opportunity to score a few goals, I'm sure a lot of the players will be pushing on to improve the goal difference and for their own enjoyment."
Then again, he realises that Poland's thrashing of Azerbaijan, who England only beat 1-0 away last October - with Owen on target - increased the pressure on Sven-Goran Eriksson's side to deliver.
"The team would prefer Poland not to have won 8-0 against them as everyone's expectations will be a bit higher now," he added.
"We've got to keep the same attitude going into the Northern Ireland game - we need to win and if we can score a few goals, then all the better." |
Neo - March 30, 2005 01:19 AM (GMT)
| QUOTE |
| "In one way I would be happy with 1-0, if we created 10 chances and just scored one goal, OK," Eriksson said. "It's important we play good football, important to win the game. It's important to keep distance from Poland. I will not tell the players to go out and score lots of goals. I will tell them to defend well which is always one of the most important things in international football. |
Neo - March 30, 2005 07:59 PM (GMT)
Gerrard has scored in the 51' to give England a 1-0 lead over Azerbaijan, currently it is the 55'
Zurawski - March 30, 2005 08:10 PM (GMT)
Beckham has scored (62), it is now 2-0 England
Neo - March 31, 2005 02:38 AM (GMT)
lol...Carlos is a bit upset? Check out his comments re: Owen:
http://www.sportinglife.com/football/news/...l&TEAMHD=soccer| QUOTE |
"This man, this midget, I refuse to talk about him any more. I will talk about Beckham, Rooney, Ferdinand or Lampard, but not this midget. This midget ought to clean the boots of Beckham as they are so wet tonight."
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Carlos apparently got the (wrong) idea that Owen stated he was going to score 5 goals against Azerbaijan.