www射-国产免费一级-欧美福利-亚洲成人福利-成人一区在线观看-亚州成人

  Home>News Center>Sports
         
 

England team different but still strong
(Agencies)
Updated: 2005-05-27 09:00

Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher are partying in Liverpool. David Beckham and Michael Owen are training in Spain. Rio Ferdinand, Paul Robinson, John Terry and Frank Lampard are all giving their battered bodies a break.


England's Sol Campbell looks at the net before his kick during practice at the Illinois Institute of Technology field in Chicago, Thursday, May 26, 2005. Smiling in the background is teammate Ashley Cole. England will face the USA team at Soldier Field in Chicago Saturday, May 28. [AP]
No, the team that plays the United States in an exhibition Saturday won't be the England that soccer fans are accustomed to seeing. But don't expect a bunch of scrubs, either.

"Although you don't hear the big names that you want to hear, those are outstanding players in one of the toughest leagues in the world," U.S. coach Bruce Arena said. "I would say anyway you cut it, the team that England brings in here on Saturday is one of the better teams in the world."

This is the first game between England and the United States since 1994, when England won 2-0 at Wembley to avenge a loss the year before in Foxboro, Mass. The teams have been trying to schedule a game for several years, and the initial hope was to play it in 2000, the 50th anniversary of the American upset over England in the World Cup.

But between World Cup qualifiers and the European championship, the teams' schedules never quite matched up. Finally, they settled on this date for a whirlwind English tour of the States.

After the U.S. game, England travels to East Rutherford, N.J., where it will play Colombia in another exhibition Tuesday.

"It's important for young players to play against teams with another style, not always a European style," English coach Sven-Goran Eriksson said earlier this month. "I think every second year, England should go out of Europe and play."

And this is the best time to do it. The European club season is almost over, and England doesn't have another World Cup qualifying game until September. That means most of the English players have some free time on their hands.

So why the makeshift roster? Gerrard and Carragher were part of the Liverpool team that won the Champions League title in Turkey on Wednesday, and Real Madrid wanted Beckham and Owen to stick around through the end of the season. They're expected to join England for the Colombia game.

Several other big names opted to stay home and give their bodies a chance to heal up for the final qualifying games.

"At the end of the day, it's an opportunity for the squad that we've got," goalkeeper David James said Thursday. "It's another chance for people to prove themselves."

England did bring Euro 2004 All-Stars Sol Campbell and Ashley Cole, as well as Joe Cole, who started in the last two qualifiers. But much of the rest of the roster is filled with youngsters hoping to play their way onto the World Cup squad.

Six players have yet to make an appearance with the national team. Six others have 10 games or less of international experience.

"The thing about a game like this is sometimes when you're playing different personnel, it's an advantage to them," U.S. goalkeeper Kasey Keller said. "There's really nothing to lose. (If they lose) the press in England would say, `Well, we didn't have our full team.'"

The Americans aren't at full strength, either. Captain Claudio Reyna is skipping the England game and next week's World Cup qualifiers after missing most of the English season with a leg injury. Oguchi Onyewu, Pablo Mastroeni and DaMarcus Beasley are hurt, too, and Eddie Lewis is still in England for a playoff game.

The Americans are also looking ahead to next week's World Cup qualifiers. Don't get them wrong. After winning only two of their seven previous meetings, they'd love to beat England simply for the bragging rights.

But getting into the World Cup matters more.

"Granted, we all want to win on Saturday," Keller said. "But it's nothing more than trying to get in a good frame of mind for the two games that matter."

FREE KICKS:@ Eriksson has appointed Campbell captain for Saturday's game. ... England M Stewart Downing will miss the game because of a knee injury. ... Beasley is running and cutting at full speed, and hopes to be ready for next weekend's qualifiers.



Liverpool's Triumph
Spurs rally past Suns 111-108
Wade Show
 
  Today's Top News     Top Sports News
 

Battles won on drugs, but war rages on

 

   
 

China wants Games torch on Mt.Qomolangma

 

   
 

Shanghai targeting at property bubbles

 

   
 

FM: Talks only way to East China Sea row

 

   
 

Focus on security, airlines instructed

 

   
 

Nestle baby formula pulled off the shelves

 

   
  England team different but still strong
   
  UEFA may allow Liverpool to defend title
   
  Man U board recommends shareholders sell
   
  Real Madrid keen to develop brand in China but denies buying stake in club
   
  Miami top Pistons 92-86 to knot series
   
  AC Milan unashamed by Liverpool loss
   
 
  Go to Another Section  
 
 
  Story Tools  
   
Advertisement
         
主站蜘蛛池模板: 亚洲欧美94色 | 国产精品1区 | 92精品国产成人观看免费 | 亚洲另类激情综合偷自拍 | 亚洲一级特黄特黄的大片 | 中文在线亚洲 | 亚洲免费精品 | 精品久久久久久影院免费 | 五月天激激婷婷大综合蜜芽 | 毛片精品 | 精品无码三级在线观看视频 | 国产一区二区日韩欧美在线 | 99在线精品免费视频 | 99热久久国产精品免费观看 | 欧美性精品hd在线观看 | 免费观看呢日本天堂视频 | 国产成人免费网站 | 日本一级毛片高清免费观看视频 | 日本一区二区三区四区不卡 | 欧美一区二区三区免费高 | 精品欧美一区二区三区在线观看 | 久久久久久久久久久久久久久久久 | 免费观看一级特黄欧美大片 | 欧美成人亚洲国产精品 | 日韩精品视频免费在线观看 | a级毛片毛片免费观看永久 a级毛片毛片免费很很综合 | 成人免费视频播放 | 综合久久久久久中文字幕 | 国产精品高清在线观看93 | 日韩一级欧美一级一级国产 | 国产综合久久久久影院 | 老头做爰xxxx视频 | 一级毛片视频在线 | 欧美精品亚洲人成在线观看 | 欧美日韩乱国产 | 中文字幕在线免费观看视频 | 日韩欧美一级 | 欧美成人免费看片一区 | 日韩视频大全 | 亚洲综合在线另类色区奇米 | 国产亚洲影院 |