The Fan

The best midfield in the world?

...only if Sven can get them playing together

England head coach Sven Goran Eriksson believes he could have the world’s best midfield at his disposal for the World Cup this summer [From: Sky Sports].

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Cole grabs late England winner

England win their final friendly before World Cup Final squad selected

ENGLAND beat Uruguay 2-1 in their final warm-up match before this Summer’s World Cup in Germany. Goals from Crouch and Cole late in the second half helped England overcome Uruguay who led from Pouso’s fantastic first half volley.

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Alex Ferguson has offered Trinidad & Tobago captain Dwight Yorke the opportunity to train with Manchester United prior to the World Cup.

Trinidad & Tobago will play England in the group stage on 15 June.

With Ferguson regularly playing two of England’s potential star players (Rio Ferdinand and Wayne Rooney) out of position in midfield, could it be his deliberate intention to spoil England’s World Cup chances?

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The FA must decide next manager soon

Would you take the Newcastle job if you were O'Neill?

There is no doubt that the English FA were correct to state that Eriksson would be leaving after the World Cup. It ended potentially months of newspaper speculation.

However, you have to feel some sympathy with Premiership clubs caught up in the middle of the decision…

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Martin O’Neill is the 13/8 favourite to become the next England manager after Premier League chairman Dave Richards was quoted as saying:

“It’s time for a British boss, somebody who understands our passion, belief and commitment. There’s no distinction between English and British.”

Richards is a member of the three-man panel that will find Eriksson’s successor.

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England land ‘soft’ group in Euro 2008 draw

ENGLAND, Croatia, Russia, Israel, Estonia, Macedonia, Andorra

via BBC

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Eriksson to quit after World Cup

The BBC is reporting that Sven-Goran Eriksson will quit as England coach following this summer’s World Cup finals.

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Sven Goran Eriksson at Highbury

Given that Arsenal started game with 11 foreign players, and that Middlesborough were reduced to fielding a team of youngsters, what exactly was Eriksson doing at Highbury on Saturday?

Surely the England manager could have found a more useful game to watch.

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England have been drawn in Group B with Paraguay, Sweden and Trinidad & Tobago.

Hosts Germany will be happy with their group stage opposition, but Italy ranked 12 in the FIFA world rankings face the Czech Republic (ranked 2nd), USA (ranked 8th), and Ghana.

The full draw is:

GROUP A Germany, Costa Rica, Poland, Ecuador

GROUP B England, Paraguay, Trinidad & Tobago, Sweden

GROUP C Argentina, Ivory Coast, Serbia & Montenegro, Holland

GROUP D Mexico, Iran, Angola, Portugal

GROUP E Italy, Ghana, USA, Czech Republic

GROUP F Brazil, Croatia, Australia, Japan

GROUP G France, Switzerland, South Korea, Togo

GROUP H Spain, Ukraine, Tunisia, Saudi Arabia

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Two late Owen goals beat Argentina

A thoroughly entertaining friendly saw England beat Argentina 3-2 with 2 goals in the last 5 minutes.

Both sides played good attacking football and at times Argentina showed why they are ranked second in the world against a shaky looking England defence.

‘Eriksson in successful substitution shock’

How much Eriksson learnt about his players or formation I’m not sure, but I think the country at least regained some faith in the manager’s ability to change games (for the better).

By bringing Cole on for King, and switching Gerrard into the holding position, England became much more likely to score as Argentina began to sit on their 2-1 lead. And while, Crouch wasn’t able to get directly involved, Owen certainly capitalised, suddenly finding space in the Argentinian defence to score the 2 winning goals.

Robinson and Rooney were the highlights for England, with the midfielders all playing well in patches.

The defence needs work: Ferdinand and Terry never seem ‘together’ for me, and Bridge was obviously off the pace., but on the whole a very encouraging fixture in a game that the FA must be congratulated for arranging. A perfect friendly.

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