England 0-2 France
IBSA Blind Football World Championship
Buenos Aires, Argentina
29 November 2006

England concluded their campaign with a 2-0 defeat to France last night which saw The Three Lions finish sixth overall.

France raced into the lead as early as the second minute which left Tony Larkin's side chasing the game.

With a one-goal deficit still at the break, England threw caution to the win in the second half but could not conjure up a clear-cut chance, a situation that was punished with a minute to go, when Les Bleus doubled their lead.

Japan 0-1 England
IBSA Blind Football World Championship
Buenos Aires, Argentina
28 November 2006

England secured a narrow 1-0 victory this afternoon against Japan to keep their hopes of a highest ever finish at the World Blind Championship alive.

After a tense first half in Argentina with England struggling without the physical presence of David Clarke, 'keeper Jon Pugh kept the Three Lions in the game with a series of saves.

At half time, Coaches Tony Larkin and John Ball gambled by switching defender Aj Ahmed into a striking role in a bid to hold the ball up and bring the midfield players into the game, yet still the Japanese pressed.

Pugh again had to be at his best to save a string of penalties and he was rewarded in the dying minutes as England finally took the lead. It was makeshift striker Ahmed - who had earned rave reviews for his defensive displays in the group stages - who found a bit of space for the first time, and he lashed a shot into the roof of the net to give England a 1-0 win.

England now play France at 10.00pm GMT on Wednesday night, and a victory would not only secure fifth place, but also likely keep England away from Spain at the 2007 European Blind Championship draw, boosting home hopes of qualifying for the 2008 Paralympics in China.


Argentina 2-0 England
IBSA Blind Football World Championship
Buenos Aires, Argentina
26 November 2006

After goalless draws against Korea and Spain, England went down to a 2-0 defeat against reigning world champions Argentina in their final group game yesterday.

Missing injured striker David Clarke after he broke his wrist in the first game, The Three Lions battled against the hosts in Buenos Aires. Despite the heroics of 'keeper Jon Pugh, another impressive performance at the back by Aj Ahmed and the blossoming talents of Keryn Seal, defeat means England are now targeting a best ever World Championship finish of fifth place.

Assistant Coach John Ball told TheFA.com: "We are very proud of the players as in no way were they disgraced against the best side in the world.

"On Saturday we had the better of the game against Spain who are the number one team in Europe and I think the efforts from that match sapped a bit of energy from a few of our players yesterday.

"We are still playing catch-up with the best teams in world, and our challenge off the back of tournaments like this is to further raise the profile of blind football and get more blind people involved in the game."

England now play Japan tomorrow with the winners set to play either France or Korea in the 5th v 6th play-off game.


Spain 0-0 England
IBSA Blind Football World Championship
Buenos Aires, Argentina
25 November 2006

England enjoyed an end to end encounter with Europe's number one team, and were unlucky not to take all three points after creating the better chances.

Darren Harris struck both posts in a pulsating game while Ajmal Ahmed was once again the rock in the centre of the English defence.

The spirit in the camp is first class at the moment and the boys go into the final Group B game against Argentina - a must win match - full of confidence

Korea 0-0 England
IBSA Blind Football World Championship
Buenos Aires, Argentina
24 November 2006

A mixture of poor finishing and bad luck prevented England from opening their World Championship campaign with victory over Korea,

In a one-sided affair, the Three Lions had 34 attempts at goal, while their opponents managed only two. Striker Dave Clarke rattled both post and cross bar in the second half, while Ajmal Ahmed put in a man-of-the-match display at the back.

The disappointment of losing two valuable points was compounded when news that Clarke broke his wrist and will now be a doubt for the remainder of the tournament.