Post by Salem6 on Jun 19, 2004 12:39:08 GMT
By Phil McNulty
Our man with England
Midfielder Owen Hargreaves missed England's training session in Lisbon on Saturday because of an upset stomach.
Hargreaves picked up a heavy knock against the Swiss
The Bayern Munich man is also nursing a heavy kick on the leg which he received after coming on as a substitute in the 3-0 win against Switzerland.
Paul Scholes was also missing from the session as he protects a slight leg injury he sustained against the Swiss.
The only other absentees in much cooler Lisbon temperatures were Sol Campbell and Steven Gerrard who have blisters.
It is thought that all four players will be available for England's final Group B game against Croatia on Monday, with Sven-Goran Eriksson's men needing a draw to progress to the quarter-finals.
Michael Owen, under fire from some quarters after a disappointing start to the tournament, did train on Saturday and he has received Eriksson's full support.
Owen has been substituted in England's games against France and Switzerland.
But Eriksson is convinced Owen will come good, saying: "It's football - it's not like a computer.
"It may be scoring a goal or getting confidence, but Michael Owen will score, I'm not worried at all about that at all."
He added: "You always have someone starting slowly. It's about small details."
And Eriksson believes Owen's cross for Wayne Rooney's first goal against Switzerland proved they are developing as a partnership.
"When Wayne Rooney drops to take the ball, he's absolutely fantastic. He and Michael Owen can play good football together, I have no doubts about that," he said.
Rooney has captured the imagination with his first two performances in the competition, although he will have to guard against a second booking that will earn him a ban.
Eriksson said: "I don't think he's worried about anything but, of course, I will talk to him about not taking a stupid card."
Eriksson also reiterated his belief in playing either a conventional 4-4-2 system or a midfield diamond formation.
"My conviction is that we can play two different systems very well," he said.
"If you look at the games we played since the World Cup, we have shown that against the best opponents in Europe.
"We have had marvellous games in the past with the diamond system."
news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/euro_2004/england/3820891.stm
Our man with England
Midfielder Owen Hargreaves missed England's training session in Lisbon on Saturday because of an upset stomach.
Hargreaves picked up a heavy knock against the Swiss
The Bayern Munich man is also nursing a heavy kick on the leg which he received after coming on as a substitute in the 3-0 win against Switzerland.
Paul Scholes was also missing from the session as he protects a slight leg injury he sustained against the Swiss.
The only other absentees in much cooler Lisbon temperatures were Sol Campbell and Steven Gerrard who have blisters.
It is thought that all four players will be available for England's final Group B game against Croatia on Monday, with Sven-Goran Eriksson's men needing a draw to progress to the quarter-finals.
Michael Owen, under fire from some quarters after a disappointing start to the tournament, did train on Saturday and he has received Eriksson's full support.
Owen has been substituted in England's games against France and Switzerland.
But Eriksson is convinced Owen will come good, saying: "It's football - it's not like a computer.
"It may be scoring a goal or getting confidence, but Michael Owen will score, I'm not worried at all about that at all."
He added: "You always have someone starting slowly. It's about small details."
And Eriksson believes Owen's cross for Wayne Rooney's first goal against Switzerland proved they are developing as a partnership.
"When Wayne Rooney drops to take the ball, he's absolutely fantastic. He and Michael Owen can play good football together, I have no doubts about that," he said.
Rooney has captured the imagination with his first two performances in the competition, although he will have to guard against a second booking that will earn him a ban.
Eriksson said: "I don't think he's worried about anything but, of course, I will talk to him about not taking a stupid card."
Eriksson also reiterated his belief in playing either a conventional 4-4-2 system or a midfield diamond formation.
"My conviction is that we can play two different systems very well," he said.
"If you look at the games we played since the World Cup, we have shown that against the best opponents in Europe.
"We have had marvellous games in the past with the diamond system."
news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/euro_2004/england/3820891.stm