6 June 2007
EXCLUSIVE VIDEO: Ledley King interview

The England defender spoke to TheFA.com about how pleased he was to finish the season on a high.


Estonia

0-3

England

 

Cole 37, Crouch 54, Owen 62


Euro 2008 Qualifying Match, Group E
7.30pm, Wednesday 6 June 2007
A. Le Coq Arena,
Tallinn, Estonia

Ledley King certainly lived up to his surname during a regal display against Estonia on Wednesday night.

England’s Mr Reliable was outstanding alongside John Terry at the heart of the Three Lions defence, never more so than when he denied Vladimir Voskoboinikov in the first half with an immaculately timed challenge as the Estonian striker prepared to pull the trigger.

The 3-0 win keeps England’s hopes of qualifying for Euro 2008 very much alive and the magnitude of the result, after setbacks against Croatia and Israel, was not lost on King.

"It’s massive," he told TheFA.com. "Having had a couple of disappointing performances, we wanted to come out and make a statement today. It’s a tough place to come and I thought it was a good team performance."

Estonia have yet to pick up a point or even score a goal in their qualifying campaign but a narrow 1-0 loss to Croatia just days before was evidence they could be tricky opponents.

And roared on by an enthusiastic crowd they showed they were not overawed by facing England.

In response, the Tottenham Hotspur defender knew the Three Lions had to start well if they were to chip away at Estonia’s confidence.

"We watched tapes of them and knew they were going to be a tough team to break down," King added.

"We wanted to get off to a good start and really put pressure on them. In the end, we knew the way we started was going to dictate the game and it was tough for them to keep working the way they had done and we knew we could grind them down.

"It was never going to be easy. We had to be patient at times and keep trying to move the ball and wait for the opening. We got goals at good times, especially the one in the first half."

King has endured an injury ravaged season. Twelve months ago a broken metatarsal ruled him out of the World Cup but after a year of battling to get fit, King is pleased to be back winning in an England shirt.

"It’s not been the best of seasons for me, I've been injured a lot," he added. "It’s nice to end it on a positive note."

Click on one of the links to see the interview in full.

Estonia: 1 Mart Poom, 3 Andrei Stepanov, 5 Dmitri Kruglov, 2 Enar Jaager, 6 Aleksandr Dmitrijev, 4 Ragnar Klavan, 10 Konstantin Vassiljev, 11 Sergei Terehhov (17 Tarmo Kink 64), 8 Joel Lindpere, 7 Oliver Konsa (18 Tarmo Neemelo 46), 9 Vladimir Voskoboinkov

Subs: 12 Artur Kotenko, 13 Alo Barengrub, 14 Urmas Rooba, 15 Liivo Leetma, 16 Gert Kams,

England: 1 Paul Robinson, 5 Ledley King, 6 John Terry (c), 2 Wes Brown, 3 Wayne Bridge, 4 Steven Gerrard, 7 David Beckham (15 Kieron Dyer 68), 8 Frank Lampard ,11 Joe Cole (16 Stewart Downing 76), 9 Peter Crouch,10 Michael Owen (14 Jermaine Jenas 88)

Subs Not Used: 13 Scott Carson,12 Jamie Carragher, 18 Jermain Defoe, 17 Alan Smith