Tord's answers

Sunday, 18 June 2006.

England Assistant Coach Tord Grip was online this afternoon talking to fans ahead of England's last Group B game against Sweden and you can read his answers below.

It's an interesting game in more ways than one for England, who could clinch the top spot with a point.

However, Sweden have not been beaten by the Three Lions since 1968 so it will not be an easy game.

In the last World Cup four years ago, England opened with a 1-1 draw against the Swedes, who themselves need a point to be certain of a place in the last 16.

But how will England approach this match? Tord spoke about this and more during his live webchat and here are his answers.

Look out for more exclusive webchats in the coming days and stay logged on to TheFA.com - the only place to be during the World Cup

Talk to Tord

Darren NORWICH	Just want to say you're doing a great job so far and thank you for answering my question
Tord Grip TheFA.com	That's a pleasure Darren. We all really appreciate your support and it's good to be able to talk directly to you. This is my sixth World Cup as both a scout and a coach and I am enjoying it as much as any before. USA 1994 will always be special to me for where it was played and the fact that we got to the Semi-Finals with Sweden but this feels special too. It's a privilege for me to be here and I am conscious of that. The hotel that The FA has chosen is excellent and when I open the windows and see where we are I feel very happy. Well, I'm going to go now and watch some more football. Thanks again for your support and I'll no doubt see many of you in Cologne. Tord.
Carla Southend	How many players who appeared against Trinidad and Tobago are likely to play again on Tuesday?
Tord Grip TheFA.com	I know that Sven has mentioned that we are thinking about the players on yellow cards but at the moment we have not taken the decision. We will make that call after training on Monday.
Darren NORWICH	How will you feel if you knock Sweden out - coming from Sweden?
Tord Grip TheFA.com	I have no problem with that because they have very good statistics against us so it's time for us now to show we can beat them and break that long run. What that would mean in terms of Sweden's tournament, cannot be in my mind.
Rachel Burnley	Do you think that some of the amazing goals at the tournament are as a result of the new balls? How have the players got used to them?
Tord Grip TheFA.com	Hi Rachel, it's a little bit difficult for the 'keepers but not for the players! Deco's shot, a couple from Germany and Steven Gerrard's were all spectacular. We have players like Frank and Steven and Wayne who like to shoot from distance so we hope it's going to work in our favour.
Simon Gloucester	How have you been spending your free time in Baden Baden? Is there much to take your mind off football?
Tord Grip TheFA.com	I've been out in the surroundings of our hotel. It's beautiful and the air is good. There are lots of paths to follow so you can walk and run for hours if you want to. I try to go out almost every day. Then we have been down to Baden Baden a couple of times too. That helps to change the sights. We all hope we can be here for another three weeks or so. We hope we have another five games yet.
William Borehamwood	What have you made of the English support at the games in Frankfurt and Nuremberg?
Tord Grip TheFA.com	I couldn't believe what I saw in the first game in Frankfurt. Almost three quarters of the stadium was England. It was fantastic! We know the problems there have been in getting tickets but we can see by the amazing support we have had how much it means to the fans. We never ask the players to acknowledge the fans, the players do it themselves. They are aware of the support and what we owe to our fans.
Lois Essex	We're not afraid of anyone and will have to beat the best to win the World Cup. But what's more important - avoiding a second round game with Germany or a QF game with Argentina?
Tord Grip TheFA.com	I know what you mean Lois, it could work out that way. If we win the group, we would not be in line to meet Argentina in the Quarter Finals. I think it's good to win the group. It means more time between the games. Then, if it means we meet Germany, we will deal with that. We will not go into any game to avoid winning in order to not meet a certain opponent, I do not fancy that. We should go out to win every game and that is what we will do.
Sean Romford	Which is more crucial in a tournament like the World Cup - scoring many goals or keeping clean sheets?
Tord Grip TheFA.com	Good question! Obviously both are best. With England, we have defended very well so far but now I think the players, knowing we have qualified, will come out and play a bit more. Often the first games are tight because no one wants to lose, but now we will express ourselved more I think. It's time to go forward, be clever and take the game to our opponents. We have created goal chances without taking them. Now if we can translate chances into goals, things will get much better for us.
Martin Doncaster	The World Cup has so far been pretty exciting from a spectator's point of view, have you been able to watch many of the other games? What have you made of the football being played in Germany?
Tord Grip TheFA.com	I've seen a lot of games, normally two each day. There's been lots of good football. I am watching Japan and Croatia now! From Africa, Ghana have caught my eye, Argentina from South America, Spain and Portugal from Europe and Germany will come strong too, I have no doubt. I think this is a very good tournament so far. Also, apart from maybe the Italy v USA game, it has been clean and that is a very good and makes for better football. They are being very strict about tackles from behind, time-wasting and the players are responding in the right way.
Stuart Hitchin	How is this match different from the last World Cup when we played Sweden in our first game?
Tord Grip TheFA.com	Hi Stuart, We know that we are through already now so that is very good for us. We can be positive and relaxed. I saw in training today that we are looking sharper and sharper at the moment. In Japan we didn't score in the second half in the whole tournament and we have already scored two this tournament so I think we are stronger in every way. At first, I thought Sweden's backline might not be the strongest part of their team but they have kept two clean sheets and their defence have been excellent. Their goalkeeper is one of the best in Europe so we will need to work hard to break them down.
Jacob Birmingham	Were you surprised when you joined England by just how long it has been since we won against Sweden?
Tord Grip TheFA.com	Hi Jacob, Yes, I was a bit surprised by that, it was 11 games, seven draws and four losses. But we've been coming closer and it will be good if we can beat them on Tuesday because we want to win the group.

Web Chat Ended

TORD'S ANSWERS

18 June 2006