12 November 2005
Paul Robinson Exclusive

England Paul Robinson speaks exclusively to TheFA.com after the sensational win over Argentina in Geneva.


England goalkeeper Paul Robinson says that a fantastic team spirit played a major factor in the Three Lions dramatic victory against Argentina in Geneva on Saturday.

Argentina were winning the match 2-1 with two minutes to play before a brace from Michael Owen snatched a morale boosting win for Sven-Goran Eriksson’s men, seven months before the World Cup.

"We were under the cosh for the first 20 minutes, but then we came back at them and played very well," Robinson told TheFA.com.

"We turned it around with the correct attitude and commitment. I thought we were unlucky to concede a goal but we never gave up and got ourselves back into the game with the equaliser.

"And then we showed great spirit and managed to claim a great win."

The 26-year-old is in fine form for his club, Tottenham, as well as with the Three Lions. He produced some heroics in goal for the first 20 minutes as Argentina laid siege to his area.

Firstly, he denied Riquelme by pushing his stinging effort over the bar with both hands after five minutes. He then threw himself to the ground to block a low drive from Tevez and pulled off a fine stop from a Rodriguez volley.

In the second half, he again denied Tevez and took an accidental kick to the head in the process and needed medical treatment after the match.

But after being patched up, Robinson claimed that England have a good chance to win the World Cup in Germany next year.

"Lots of people have their opinions about the England team but all we can do is play our best," he said

"We’ve put in a good performance today against the second best team in the world so hopefully things are looking up for us."