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England happy to win ugly rather than lose in style
(Agencies)
Updated: 2004-06-18 09:28

England played with great style and poise on Sunday but lost to France. On Thursday they never showed anything like as much class or confidence but beat Switzerland.

There is no doubt what made coach Sven-Goran Eriksson and his players happier.

"Three points are all that matters," said England goalkeeper David James after their somewhat flattering 3-0 win over the Swiss at the Cidade de Coimbra stadium that kick-started their tournament after they lost 2-1 to France in Lisbon.

"We might not have played all that well in the first half but we scored three goals without conceding any. We worked very hard for each other, we got over a nervous start and in the end were easy winners," he added.

"Of course, we played better as a team against France but got nothing out of that. This is far more satisfying."

England now have a fighting chance of qualifying for the quarter-finals and, although looking further ahead than Monday's match against Croatia is premature. one truth emerged besides the fact that Wayne Rooney is a young star in the making.

It is that teams who win anything grind out victories that may be more effective than pretty.

That is exactly what England did against a Swiss side that were awkward to beat, dominated for spells, and only really allowed England to take control after defender Bernt Haas was sent off after an hour for a second yellow card.

England centre-back Sol Campbell agreed with his goalkeeper.

"We didn't play all that well, especially in the first half, but there was enough in the performance to give us a lot of confidence for the game against Croatia.

"We knew Switzerland would be difficult to control. They pass and move well and put us under pressure but we came through that. The three points today were vital and all that mattered was that we got them -- not necessarily how we got them."

Take comfort

Eriksson and his backroom squad will take comfort from a win that was never easy on the eye but was never really in much doubt either after Rooney, at 18, became the youngest scorer in the history of the finals with a well-taken header after 23 minutes.

Rooney, named man of the match after scoring two goals, contributed in defence and midfield as well as attack, and again over-shadowed strike partner Michael Owen who had another disappointing game.

Eriksson praised Rooney but also Steven Gerrard who scored an excellent goal after 82 minutes to seal England's points.

"He is the complete midfield player, he pushes on, he comes back, he does everything for you."

Gerrard had a fine match as did Gary Neville in the England defence alongside Campbell and John Terry who marked his return from injury with a commanding performance.

Apart from Owen having another anonymous game, England skipper David Beckham also gave an average performance.

Although he set up the move that led to the first goal, Beckham, playing wide on the right, seemed peripheral to much of the action.

His class is undoubted, of course, and if he plays better against Croatia and Owen finds some form too, England might be able to combine their classy performance from the France match with their winning one on Thursday and earn three points with style.

Switzerland's involvement in the championship is hanging by a thread. Perhaps the best they can hope for in their final match against France is that they finish the game with 11 men after having players sent off in their opening two games.



 
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