Frank prepared for Ukraine
by Jamie Bradbury at Kellers Park
Tuesday, 14 June, 2011
England keeper Fielding says Three Lions can adapt for Ukraine encounter.
Click here to watch the FATV exclusive video with Frank Fielding
Frank Fielding says that England Under-21s will be able to adapt to face a different style of football to their first game when they take on Ukraine in Herning on Wednesday night.
The Three Lions stopper, who was beaten once against Spain in their opening match despite their opponents seeing the majority of possession, expects match number two at the UEFA European Under-21 Championship to be a different proposition.
Ukraine remained unbeaten during their qualifying group and toppled Holland in the play-off to reach the Finals, but defeat to Czech Republic in their first game means they'll be desperate for a win.
Meanwhile, England salvaged a late point in their game with Spain thanks to Danny Welbeck's 88th minute strike.
"The game went pretty quickly and I’m delighted that we got the goal in the end," Frankie told FATV when out on the team hotel's golf buggy in the lead up to Wednesday's game.
"Danny worked his socks off and deserved the goal for the massive shift he put in.
"I’ve not played much tournament football before but it’s important to keep yourself undefeated and we managed to do that. We waited until the last possible moment, but I’m delighted we got the point against a fairly decent Spanish side.
"We worked on not giving any silly free-kicks away. Thankfully we didn’t give one away in the last third, so I was happy with that."
Fielding, a recent signing for Derby County, is now looking ahead to a return to Herning Stadium and believes that Stuart Pearce's men can seal the victory that would leave them in a strong position with one Group B game left against Czech Republic on Sunday.
"They are all must-win games now," he said. "Thommo (Goalkeeping Coach Martin Thomas) said that no team has ever failed to go through with five points. If we win the next one and get a point in the one after that then I’ll be delighted.
"It’ll be a totally opposite game from the Spanish game. It’ll be more physical but still high tempo and we can adapt to different teams as we have shown this season."
Click here to watch the FATV exclusive video with Frank Fielding