Post by Salem6 on Jun 21, 2004 19:15:08 GMT
England midfielder Owen Hargreaves has recovered from a stomach upset and will be on the bench for Monday's crunch Group B game against Croatia.
CROATIA V ENGLAND
MATCH DETAILS
Group B, Lisbon
Monday 21 June, 1945 BST
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BBC COVERAGE
Live on MOTD from 1930, BBC1
Live on Five Live
Coach Sven-Goran Eriksson ruled the Bayern Munich man out on Sunday after revealing he had not eaten for 48 hours and was "not very well".
But Hargreaves has improved overnight, giving Eriksson a valuable option on the bench in the absence of Nicky Butt.
England need one point from Monday's game to qualify for the quarter-finals.
But Sven-Goran Eriksson has promised England will not play for a draw.
"We have to go out and try to play our game - try to defend well, try to attack well and try to win the game," coach Eriksson told BBC Sport.
"I don't think we are a team who can play for a 0-0 draw. The approach must be to attack and score goals."
England fans are congregating in Lisbon for the match - with tension building among those present four years ago at Euro 2000 when their team also needed a draw to qualify from the group.
On that occasion England lost 3-2 to Romania after Phil Neville conceded a late penalty.
Eriksson was not in charge then - his predecessor Kevin Keegan was at the helm - but the Swede is determined not to let history repeat itself.
He said: "When we have the ball, if we can, we should attack them. That will create problems for Croatia.
"Just sitting there waiting for the ball to come back is very dangerous."
England's fans are in confident mood as they gather at the Estadio da Luz - despite the opponents this evening being in buoyant mood themselves after their impressive 2-2 draw against France.
Eriksson said: "I'm full of respect for Croatia. They are a good team.
"In the second half against France they played extremely well. They are full of confidence and on counter-attacks they are extremely dangerous.
"We will have to play very good football if we want to go through.
Eriksson, whose team will play Portugal or Greece in the quarter-finals should they get there, also backed Michael Owen to score against Croatia, despite substituting the striker in both of England's opening games.
He said: "Michael will start the match again.
"He played better against Switzerland than against France - he was more lively and took more initiative.
"I wouldn't be surprised if he starts to score goals on Monday."
Eriksson has asked captain David Beckham and experienced defender Gary Neville to watch over 18-year-old star Wayne Rooney, who has been targeted for special treatment by Croatia.
Coach Otto Baric has admitted he may look to exploit the volatile temperament which has seen Rooney pick up a yellow card at Euro 2004.
But Eriksson insisted there would not be any thought of leaving out the Everton star.
"As a manager, I can't think about leaving him out and hoping we win the game anyway. He has to play against Croatia, and that's it."
Apart from Butt - who is out for at least another week with damaged medial knee ligaments - England have a clean bill of health.
The Croatia match takes place in the Stadium of Light in Lisbon, the scene of England's dramatic 2-1 defeat to France in their opening group game.
"I don't think we'll lose another game like we lost that one," Eriksson added.
Eriksson has been told that his job as England coach will be safe regardless of the result against Croatia.
Video:-
Interview: John Terry
news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/euro_2004/england/3788187.stm#
Report: BBC's Adam Parsons
news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/euro_2004/england/3788187.stm#
Audio:-
Interview: Sven-Goran Eriksson
news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/euro_2004/england/3788187.stm#
news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/euro_2004/england/3788187.stm
CROATIA V ENGLAND
MATCH DETAILS
Group B, Lisbon
Monday 21 June, 1945 BST
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BBC COVERAGE
Live on MOTD from 1930, BBC1
Live on Five Live
Coach Sven-Goran Eriksson ruled the Bayern Munich man out on Sunday after revealing he had not eaten for 48 hours and was "not very well".
But Hargreaves has improved overnight, giving Eriksson a valuable option on the bench in the absence of Nicky Butt.
England need one point from Monday's game to qualify for the quarter-finals.
But Sven-Goran Eriksson has promised England will not play for a draw.
"We have to go out and try to play our game - try to defend well, try to attack well and try to win the game," coach Eriksson told BBC Sport.
"I don't think we are a team who can play for a 0-0 draw. The approach must be to attack and score goals."
England fans are congregating in Lisbon for the match - with tension building among those present four years ago at Euro 2000 when their team also needed a draw to qualify from the group.
On that occasion England lost 3-2 to Romania after Phil Neville conceded a late penalty.
Eriksson was not in charge then - his predecessor Kevin Keegan was at the helm - but the Swede is determined not to let history repeat itself.
He said: "When we have the ball, if we can, we should attack them. That will create problems for Croatia.
"Just sitting there waiting for the ball to come back is very dangerous."
England's fans are in confident mood as they gather at the Estadio da Luz - despite the opponents this evening being in buoyant mood themselves after their impressive 2-2 draw against France.
Eriksson said: "I'm full of respect for Croatia. They are a good team.
"In the second half against France they played extremely well. They are full of confidence and on counter-attacks they are extremely dangerous.
"We will have to play very good football if we want to go through.
Eriksson, whose team will play Portugal or Greece in the quarter-finals should they get there, also backed Michael Owen to score against Croatia, despite substituting the striker in both of England's opening games.
He said: "Michael will start the match again.
"He played better against Switzerland than against France - he was more lively and took more initiative.
"I wouldn't be surprised if he starts to score goals on Monday."
Eriksson has asked captain David Beckham and experienced defender Gary Neville to watch over 18-year-old star Wayne Rooney, who has been targeted for special treatment by Croatia.
Coach Otto Baric has admitted he may look to exploit the volatile temperament which has seen Rooney pick up a yellow card at Euro 2004.
But Eriksson insisted there would not be any thought of leaving out the Everton star.
"As a manager, I can't think about leaving him out and hoping we win the game anyway. He has to play against Croatia, and that's it."
Apart from Butt - who is out for at least another week with damaged medial knee ligaments - England have a clean bill of health.
The Croatia match takes place in the Stadium of Light in Lisbon, the scene of England's dramatic 2-1 defeat to France in their opening group game.
"I don't think we'll lose another game like we lost that one," Eriksson added.
Eriksson has been told that his job as England coach will be safe regardless of the result against Croatia.
Video:-
Interview: John Terry
news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/euro_2004/england/3788187.stm#
Report: BBC's Adam Parsons
news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/euro_2004/england/3788187.stm#
Audio:-
Interview: Sven-Goran Eriksson
news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/euro_2004/england/3788187.stm#
news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/euro_2004/england/3788187.stm