- Title: AZERBAIJAN: ENGLAND FOOTBALL TEAM TRAIN FOR WORLD CUP QUALIFYING MATCH
- Date: 12th October 2004
- Summary: BAKU, AZERBAIJAN (OCTOBER 12, 2004) (REUTERS) 1. ENGLAND COACH SVEN GORAN ERIKSSON ARRIVES AT NEWS CONFERENCE 2. (Soundbite) (English) SVEN GORAN ERIKSSON SPEAKING ABOUT HIS OPTIONS IN THE ABSENCE OF DAVID BECKHAM: "Well, as a captain, for sure Michael Owen, on the pitch we are going to try one or two things today so we have options of course we
- Embargoed: 27th October 2004 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: BAKU, AZERBAIJAN
- Country: Azerbaijan
- Reuters ID: LVA9HP278T89O0L50STAQ7Q8BOHF
- Story Text: Expectant England seek to make it three wins in a
row in their World Cup qualifying campaign.
England should complete a hat-trick of victories
that will put them firmly on course for the 2006 World Cup
in Wednesday's qualifier in Azerbaijan.
England started their Group Six campaign with a
disappointing 2-2 draw in Austria, after leading 2-0 in the
second half, a result that sparked calls from a hostile
media for coach Sven-Goran Eriksson to be sacked.
The critics were silenced, though, by a gritty 2-1
victory in Poland and a comfortable 2-0 win over Wales on
Saturday which left Eriksson's men top of the group with
seven points, ahead of Poland (6pts) and Austria (4pts).
Against an Azerbaijan side with only two points on the
board England should have little difficulty defending that
lead -- and potentially extending it if Poland fail to beat
the Welsh in Cardiff -- despite some injury woes.
Eriksson hinted on Tuesday he would stick with the
three-man attack he deployed against Wales, when Michael
Owen and Jermain Defoe played up front, supported by
teenager Wayne Rooney.
Owen Hargreaves would probably replace skipper David
Beckham, who is both injured and suspended for Wednesday's
game, on the right side of England's midfield.
Nicky Butt will almost certainly continue to stand in
for injured Steven Gerrard in Eriksson's re-shuffled
midfield after a fine display against Wales, while Frank
Lampard, who opened the scoring on Saturday, should start
on the left.
"It's a different game, it's away from home and we all
know away from home can be very tricky no matter what the
opposition. Azerbaijan have had two draws already in this
group so they're not rollovers, they're quite tight
defensively and we'll have to play quite well to get three
points," said Michael Owen, who is taking over as England
captain for Wednesday's match.
A revelation at Euro 2004, Rooney is one of the hottest
properties in international football and the 18-year-old
can expect some tight marking in Baku.
Azerbaijan coach Carlos Alberto was quoted as telling
British media this week: "Rooney is an excellent player. He
will be our big problem and we may need two or three players to look
after him." The Brazilian, who has no
major injury or suspension worries following a 0-0 home
draw with Northern Ireland on Saturday, is likely to keep
the same starting line-up.
It remains to be seen whether the small country on the
Caspian Sea can pose trouble for England on the pitch,
although they are likely to cause problems for the British
media with two players named Guliyev and three Gurbanovs in
the squad.
Defenders Kamal Guliyev and Emin Guliyev formed the
Azeri backline against the Northern Irish after being
recalled following a lengthy absence.
Midfielder Makhmud Gurbanov also started Saturday's
game, while strikers Ildar Gurbanov and Gurban Gurbanov
came on in the second half. None of the five players are
related.
Probable teams
Azerbaijan: Jahangir Hasanzade; Rafael Amirbekov,
Aftandil Hajiyev, Emin Guliyev, Kamal Guliyev; Mahir
Shukurov, Makhmud Gurbanov, Ismail Mamedov, Rashad Sadygov;
Samir Aliyev, Nadir Nabiyev.
England: Paul Robinson; Gary Neville, Sol Campbell, Rio
Ferdinand, Ashley Cole; Shaun Wright-Phillips, Frank
Lampard, Nicky Butt, Owen Hargreaves; Wayne Rooney, Michael
Owen Referee: Alain Hamer (Luxembourg)
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