England

4-0

Greece

Terry 14, Lampard 30,
Crouch 36, 42

 

 

International Friendly
8.05pm, Wednesday 16 August 2006
Old Trafford, Manchester
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16 August 2006
Owen Hargreaves post Greece

The Bayern Munich man gives us his verdict after his man of the match performance against Greece at Old Trafford.

Owen Hargreaves believes he is starting to show his best form for England and is determined to cement his place at the heart of the midfield for the European Championship qualifiers.

The Bayern Munich midfielder has been used in a number of positions for England over the last few years, but has always felt the most comfortable playing in the centre of midfield.

Hargreaves showed his true potential at the World Cup when he was England’s player of the tournament.

Steve McClaren rewarded him for his efforts with a starting place alongside Frank Lampard during the 4-0 win over Greece and was voted the man of the match.

Hargreaves says he is relishing the chance to play in his best position and believes it will only benefit the Three Lions as they look to qualify for the European Championships in 2008.

Hargreaves said: "I would like to become an established member in the team, but you need opportunities to play and I am receiving that now.

"It is not often that you get to play 90 minutes in a friendly, but I really enjoyed it. We got the result we needed and hopefully we can take that into the next two games.

"You cannot please everyone in life and I can understand where some people were coming from in their perception of me.

"But I don’t think many people saw me play enough and know what I could do. I was determined to get my head down, work very hard and take my chance when it comes along. I am just looking to the future and will hopefully receive more opportunities.

"Central midfield is the position I have always played in coming through the youth team and it is probably where I have played my best games.

"I feel I can add a lot to the team playing in that position, especially with our offensive capabilities with Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard. It gives them a free license to get forward and compliments the team."

Hargreaves was surprised by the energy levels that the England players produced during the game against Greece and feels the whole team wanted to put on a show for new manager Steve McClaren.

Hargreaves added: "I was pleased with the performance and thought we looked very disciplined and confident in the first half. We defended really well and never let them have a shot on target.

"We created lots of chances and with the attacking players we have got in the side we scored the goals when we needed to.

"I was quite surprised how fit everyone was and the work ethic was exceptional in the first half. We defended really well, took our chances and we can take a lot of positives from the game.

"It was important for the players, staff and all the fans to get a positive result after what happened in the World Cup.

"We have a very hard working group of individuals in the squad and it all came together against Greece. The defensive effort was great and we are a very tough team to beat if we play to those standards."