Tough games to come

UEFA European Championship Qualifier
8pm, Wednesday 12 September 2007
Wembley Stadium
Live on BBC1

Joe Cole had nothing but praise for the way England battled back from their injury problems to take maximum points from their last two games against Israel and Russia.

Despite missing a host of key players which included David Beckham, Wayne Rooney, Frank Lampard and Owen Hargreaves, the Three Lions showed they have enough quality to keep alive their chances of qualifying for the European Championship Finals next summer.

After beating Israel 3-0 on Saturday, Michael Owen was amongst the goals once again as he netted an impressive brace to help his side record the same scoreline over Russia at Wembley and help his side move up to second in Group E. 

Cole said: “We played well against Russia and it was a good team performance. We were nice and solid, scored three goals and kept a clean sheet and it was perfect for England.”

With the same starting line-up selected for both games, the balance and fluidity of the team never faltered and the performance illustrated to Cole just how much strength in depth there is in the squad.

“We have missed a lot of top players, but the team that has gone out there has done a really good job,” added the 25-year-old.

“You could not ask for more over the last two games and they were both great performances.

“The team looked really strong and everyone did their bit so we go away from the game really happy.

“We are very happy with the result against a good team like Russia. They are a good technical side and we knew we had to control them just after half-time, but we came back and got the third goal and are confident we can go there and get a result.

“It will be a tough game in Moscow, but we have got Estonia before that and we just need to concentrate on that.”