England v Portugal
Saturday 01 July 2006
World Cup, Quarter-Final
Veltins-Arena, Gelsenkirchen
4pm kick off (London Time)

Ashley Cole has never scored a goal in 50 appearances for England but he has a sneaky feeling that one could be coming soon.

The Arsenal star goes into today’s World Cup quarter-final against Portugal as one of the most respected defenders on the planet.

But when it comes to seeing the net bulge he is still waiting to break his international duck.

He said: "I'm disappointed about that. Very, very disappointed. I do wish I could score a few goals but hopefully I've been saving it up for this World Cup and I can notch a couple now."

The Highbury hero is certain to be a long shot to score against Portugal but in football you can never rule anything out.

And Cole is so hungry for success that he has even allowed himself to think about a possible goal celebration!

"If I score, my celebration would depend," he insisted. "If it's in the final, you might see a few moves. I might nick a few off Crouchy."

That’s a frightening thought, but when it comes to doing what he’s really good at then Cole is one of the quickest, tenacious and most skilful full-backs in the game.

Everyone remembers his performance against Portugal in the quarter-finals of Euro 2004 when he had a wonderful tussle against Cristiano Ronaldo.

He said: "Everyone says that was my best game, but I don’t to be honest. I know I've played better in other games for Arsenal and England and perhaps not got the credit for how I played.

"I don’t think the defence get enough credit overall. We run up and down all game. Our runs are taking defenders away for other players. It's not a glory position, and if you are a midfielder or striker getting the goals, there is more glory. But I do my best and I love the position. It has got me where I am today."

It’s a great credit to Cole that he is even playing in Germany this summer after suffering a broken foot mid-way through the Premiership season and then suffering further set-backs later in the campaign.

He said: "When I broke my foot, I think it was October and I had so much time to be fit for the World Cup. But when I did my third injury I thought that I had no chance. I think I had a month and a half of the season left and I had to get my place back in the Arsenal team which was hard as well.

"I never thought I would get here. My head was down. But again, I go back to Sven. He was watching me train at Arsenal, coming to watch reserve games, calling the physios the whole time. I don’t think a lot of managers would have done that to be honest.

"Sven has always backed young players. A lot of people probably wouldn’t have given us the chance but if you are good enough it doesn’t matter what age you are.

"Not just me - all the players love him. I'm not just saying these things because he has picked me. If you speak to other players, he has always been positive and behind us.

"I feel I owe him a lot for keeping the faith in me. I am here now and I can repay the people that wanted me here."

Having worked so hard to be in Germany there is no chance of Cole allowing the occasion to wash over him as England face Portugal in the quarter-final.

He said: "This is my second World Cup and I have been to the quarter-finals in three tournaments. I think this year we will be disappointed if we don’t get through to the final with the players that we have got. And if we do get to the final, then we are good enough to win it. That's not just my aim but everyone's aim.

"It's going to be a difficult route through but if you come to these tournaments you have to beat best to win it and, as I keep saying, we've got the team to do it."