Playing Clever
Saturday, 08 September, 2012
Tom Cleverley tells FATV that England were wise to save energy for Tuesday's game.
England midfielder Tom Cleverley believes the Three Lions played the perfect game on Friday night as they clocked up an impressive 5-0 win in their opening World Cup qualifier against Moldova.
It was England's first-half display which really caught the eye as Roy Hodgson's men found themselves three goals clear thanks to a brace from Frank Lampard and a further strike from Jermain Defoe.
Whilst Cleverley says England didn't exactly 'take their foot off the gas', they still did enough to add a further two goals through James Milner and Leighton Baines in the later stages to set themselves up for Tuesday's game with Ukraine at Wembley.
"When you're playing games every four or five days, you've got to be clever and when you're 3-0 up at half time, you can try and save a bit of energy for Tuesday," Cleverley told FATV in Chisinau.
"But a 5-0 away win anywhere is a really good result and these places can be tricky sometimes. I'm new to the experience, but after watching England over the years I know these games can be hard."
The Manchester United man was also pleased with the way his individual performance went, featuring in an advanced midfield role with Lampard and captain Steven Gerrard in that memorable first half display.
"I thought that me, Stevie and Lamps rotated really well and we had the two wingers and were solid at the back," he added.
"So let's hope we can carry on this good form into Tuesday."
Tickets for Tuesday's game with Ukraine at Wembley are still on sale. Click here for more details.
Watch the full FATV interview with Tom below.