13 November 2005
Tord Grip Exclusive: Match Reaction

England's Assistant Coach gives us his views on the victory over Argentina in Geneva.


England Coach Tord Grip analyses the win over Argentina, explaining how the two sides lined up against each other, whilst also praising the England fans in Geneva.

Sven's right-hand man was impressed with England's display against the side ranked second in the world but was also again amazed by the strength of England's "outstanding" support.

"It was a good game to watch, even for managers and coaches," Tord told TheFA.com.

"It was a very good game and the finish was absolutely excellent. I think the players deserved to win the game - we created more chances in the second half than they did. It was a deserved win.

"The players were up for this game but of course when you have one game and then you know you can rest for one week you can go 100% for a friendly game which is not possible when we play in the middle of the week and between games."

It was a wonderful match, full of free-flowing football, but what was Tord's analysis of the tactics that were employed on the pitch as England came from behind to win in injury time?

"They played more or less the same tactics, both teams," Tord explained. "They [Argentina] played with a diamond with Riquelme as a play-maker behind two strikers and they played with a sitting midfielder [Demichelis] from Bayern Munich [with] Cambiasso to the left and Rodriguez to the right.

"We almost played the same. We played with more width with our midfield players with Steven Gerrard and Beckham and they used the full backs to make the width. We changed that a little bit in the second half and started to play a 4-4-2.

"When Crouch came on he did some very good things for us and then we played with Rooney a little bit behind Crouch and Owen and Gerrard as a right back and that was good - [he] had some good crosses from his back position.

"Owen of course was quiet for 80 minutes and then suddenly he scores two beautiful, fantastic goals [and Rooney] is incredible."

Even though the match was a friendly, Tord believes that the confidence this win will inspire in the England players will prove to be important.

"I think to beat a team which is ranked second in the world is good," Tord said. "They had their best team and we had almost our best team as well so it was a good win."

Tord's final word was for the massed ranks of England supporters that seemed to fill every corner of the Stade de Geneve.

He said: "One thing I want to say to add to this game and that is our fans - they have been outstanding [and] they deserve the win as well."