Post by Taxigirl on Jun 8, 2004 9:03:01 GMT
news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/euro_2004/england/3782755.stm
England's players have landed in Lisbon as they prepare for the European Championship which starts in Portugal on Saturday.
Skipper David Beckham and the squad flew out of Luton airport with high hopes of Euro 2004 success.
Their Group B games will be held in Lisbon and Coimbra, with the team based in Linda-a-Velha.
England, who departed on the back of Saturday's 6-1 win over Iceland, meet France on Sunday in their first match.
The match with the reigning Euro champions is widely regarded as the best game of the group stages - and has already caught the imagination of the nation.
St George flags flutter from cars all over England, supermarkets are buying in huge supplies of beer and pubs are anticipating bumper sales as supporters prepare for a feast of football.
And coach Sven-Goran Eriksson reckons England's win over Iceland will have been noticed by Europe's fancied teams.
"England is a big football country with a lot of extremely good players," he said.
"In England, we look at when Italy or France make a big result. I think it's the same when they look at us."
The demolition of Iceland followed a 1-1 draw against Japan, and was enough to win for Eriksson's team the triangular tournament involving both those countries.
It also gave ammunition to critics of the diamond midfield system, with England playing much better after Eriksson ditched the formation.
"If we play good football, then it's not the most important thing whether we play a diamond or 4-4-2," Eriksson added. "It's about playing well.
"This result was good for the confidence but, although we have won this tournament, we haven't won anything else. We haven't even qualified for the quarter-finals of Euro 2004 yet.
"But we have shown our potential many times in real games. We have lost just one competitive game in the past three years."
Beckham and John Terry are England's main injury concerns.
Terry missed the match against Iceland with a hamstring injury but Eriksson is confident the Chelsea defender will be ready to train on Tuesday and fit to face France.
Beckham had an injection on a cyst in his back on Saturday but Eriksson is not concerned.
"He went to the doctors but he is absolutely okay, believe me," said the England coach.
Eriksson's preparations have also seen appeal to England's fans to behave themselves as any trouble involving them could see the team thrown out of Euro 2004.
The Swede instead urged supporters to repeat their exploits at the 2002 World Cup. in South Korea and Japan.
"I hope the supporters conduct themselves as they did at the World Cup. They left such a positive image - dedicated to their team, respectful to their hosts."
England's players have landed in Lisbon as they prepare for the European Championship which starts in Portugal on Saturday.
Skipper David Beckham and the squad flew out of Luton airport with high hopes of Euro 2004 success.
Their Group B games will be held in Lisbon and Coimbra, with the team based in Linda-a-Velha.
England, who departed on the back of Saturday's 6-1 win over Iceland, meet France on Sunday in their first match.
The match with the reigning Euro champions is widely regarded as the best game of the group stages - and has already caught the imagination of the nation.
St George flags flutter from cars all over England, supermarkets are buying in huge supplies of beer and pubs are anticipating bumper sales as supporters prepare for a feast of football.
And coach Sven-Goran Eriksson reckons England's win over Iceland will have been noticed by Europe's fancied teams.
"England is a big football country with a lot of extremely good players," he said.
"In England, we look at when Italy or France make a big result. I think it's the same when they look at us."
The demolition of Iceland followed a 1-1 draw against Japan, and was enough to win for Eriksson's team the triangular tournament involving both those countries.
It also gave ammunition to critics of the diamond midfield system, with England playing much better after Eriksson ditched the formation.
"If we play good football, then it's not the most important thing whether we play a diamond or 4-4-2," Eriksson added. "It's about playing well.
"This result was good for the confidence but, although we have won this tournament, we haven't won anything else. We haven't even qualified for the quarter-finals of Euro 2004 yet.
"But we have shown our potential many times in real games. We have lost just one competitive game in the past three years."
Beckham and John Terry are England's main injury concerns.
Terry missed the match against Iceland with a hamstring injury but Eriksson is confident the Chelsea defender will be ready to train on Tuesday and fit to face France.
Beckham had an injection on a cyst in his back on Saturday but Eriksson is not concerned.
"He went to the doctors but he is absolutely okay, believe me," said the England coach.
Eriksson's preparations have also seen appeal to England's fans to behave themselves as any trouble involving them could see the team thrown out of Euro 2004.
The Swede instead urged supporters to repeat their exploits at the 2002 World Cup. in South Korea and Japan.
"I hope the supporters conduct themselves as they did at the World Cup. They left such a positive image - dedicated to their team, respectful to their hosts."