Milner eyes clean sheet
Chris Hatherall
Monday, 06 September, 2010
James Milner believes solidity is key for England in Basle.
England midfielder James Milner has stressed the importance of keeping another clean sheet against Switzerland on Tuesday night and is confident they can come away with another victory.
The Three Lions got off to the perfect start when they beat Bulgaria 4-0 in their opening European Championship Qualifier last Friday at Wembley. Jermain Defoe stole the headlines with a hat-trick, but the whole team looked impressive as England managed to regain their best form.
Milner knows his side will face a difficult game in Basle, but feels they have enough quality to maintain their position at the top of Group G.
"They (Switzerland) are a good team - they've showed that," said Milner. "They had a very good result in the summer (against Spain) in the World Cup, so it is going to be tough.
"Every away game in qualification is tough. You go to some tough places with hostile atmospheres and everyone raises their game against England.
"It is up to everyone to take the form they showed at Wembley out there. We will try to win but if we can keep a clean sheet, that is the main thing.
"With the quality we've got going forward, we can always score a goal. Hopefully we can go there solid as a team and if perform like we did on Friday, I am sure we can do well.
"We need to keep improving and keep moving forward as a team because there have been a lot of changes in the squad.
"We went through qualification for the World Cup very well and hopefully we can do the same for the European Championships.
"There is a long way to go. It's a tough group, but it's a good start and it's about keeping it going and keeping on improving."