"We must keep on winning"
Jamie Bradbury in Varberg
Saturday, 20 June, 2009
Joe Hart says the team want to stay focused and aim for the Final
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Joe Hart was impressed with England's performance against Spain on Thursday night and is looking for more of the same when they take on Germany on Monday.
The Three Lions have collected two wins from tehir first two games in Sweden, beating Finland then Spain to seal a place in the semi-final with a game to spare.
England put in a professional display against pre-tournament favourites Spain, almost knocking them out of the competition, and Hart had particular praise for Fabrice Muamba.
"I think we were solid, particularly in the first half. They brought quite a lot to the table because it was a huge game for them. But we turned it on in the second half, this injection of pace helped and we made it happen," Hart told TheFA.com
"They had a few crowd favourites. When the names were read out I think even the Swedish fans were quite keen to see them. But as a team we shut them down.
"Fabrice (Muamba) absolutely ran the game in front of the back four for us. It’s been pretty much the same for two games I haven’t had a save to make because everyone in front of me has done such a good job."
James Milner also had a fine performance, setting up a goal for Fraizer Campbell before rattling one in himself. Though he'd missed a first half penalty that could have given England an earlier lead, Hart always knew Milner would come through to inspire the team, but also had a word for Spanish keeper Sergio Asenjo who made the stop from 12 yards.
"I don’t think he can really grumble about the penalty save, it was a very good penalty I was impressed with the Spanish keeper, i thought he did well all night long and i was a bit upset for him really because his team didn’t really perform like he did.
"He did well, made a great save off Milly and got back up. But MIlly is as honest as the day is long, I don’t think it was going to affect him and I’m really pleased he got a goal at the end of it."
With Stuart Pearce's side already sealing a last four spot, Hart says England must not take their foot off the pedal and maintain their momentum with the Final in mind.
Next up is the Germans in Halmstad on Monday, and they'll be looking for a point themselves to go through to the knockout stage.
"There’s no point in us doing all our hard work, only to get turned over on Monday," said Hart. "I think it will be the same type of performance, there might be a few different faces, but they’ll be working to get themselves in that semi-final team.
"The belief has been there for a while, we’ve always been aiming for it. There’s no point getting carried away now. We want to keep winning and hopefully get to the Final and see what happens from there, but there are a few hurdles before that."
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