Sapporo stage set for thriller as England and Argentina resume battle

June 6, 2002

SAPPORO, Japan, June 6 (AFP) -- England and Argentina have set the stage for another World Cup thriller here on Friday with both sides vowing to play open, attacking football in the crucial Group F clash.

After their opening draw with Sweden, England cannot afford to lose, but coach Sven-Goran Eriksson vowed he would not send out his team to try to contain the enormously talented Argentinians.

"We are going to try to beat them, we know it's difficult because they are one of the best teams in the world, but it's not going to be easy for them too," the 53-year-old Swede said after his team's eve-of-match training session at the space-age Sapporo Dome. But he acknowledged that England would have to produce a much better performance than they managed against the Swedes if they were to have any hope of beating one of the favourites to lift the World Cup.

"We are going to meet even more individual skills because they have extremely quick players who are all technically very good," he said. "Up front they have extremely good players and they seem to be in very good shape at the moment."

Eriksson's opposite number, Marcelo Bielsa, is also expecting a tough match. "It will be very intense with a lot of pressure from both sides," he said. "After beating Nigeria we know that we have to step up a level if we are to beat England."

The Argentinian coach admitted he was concerned about England's power in the air and particularly the threat represented by Sol Campbell when he comes up from the back.

"It is not only a question of stopping their players in the air, we have to make sure we address the problem at its root by not letting them get good crosses in. We know that will be tough."

But he insisted Argentina would not change their normal quick-passing style. "The most important thing for us will be possession of the ball. We have no choice but to play to our strengths and this is the right way." England were undone by their failure to keep the ball against Sweden and Eriksson has made it clear to his players they cannot afford similar sloppiness against a team of Argentina's class.

Both coaches were at pains to distance themselves from the xenophobia-tinged hype which surrounds clashes between the two countries. Bielsa said the current squad wanted to live up to the standards set by the Argentina teams who eliminated England in the quarter-finals in 1986 and in the second round at the last World Cup.

But he rejected suggestions that beating England would be particularly satisfying. "Our goal is to win for ourselves, not to send England home," he said. "Fundamentally I respect the England team and this will be a good test for us."

Some of the England players who were in the team that lost to Argentina on penalties in France 98 were angered by the Argentinians' jubilant celebrations at the end of the match and have said they have a score to settle this time around.

"I am really not aware what happened the last time but I would hope that if we have cause for celebration we would do it in a sporting manner," Bielsa said. Eriksson struck a similar note by saying his team would never contemplate using dirty tricks to try to unsettle the Argentinians.

"I don't think we have to win at all costs, but it would be very nice to win the game tomorrow." Aside from all the history, the match is rich in sub-plots, not least of which is the way England captain David Beckham has bounced back from the ignominy of being ordered off when the two countries met in Saint Etienne four years ago and the subsequent experience of being made the scapegoat for England's exit from the tournament.

For a player who loves nothing more than to perform on the biggest stages, there could be no better way for him to complete his redemption than leading England to victory here.

Juan Sebastian Veron, Beckham's team-mate at Manchester United, also has a personal point to make after what he has described as a humiliating first season in English football during which he has been blamed for his club's failure to land any silverware. England are expected to start Newcastle midfielder Kieron Dyer on the left of midfield and move Emile Heskey up front alongside his Liverpool striking partner Michael Owen.

Argentina have dropped Lazio star Claudio Lopez from their starting line-up. He will be replaced by attacking midfielder Kily Gonzalez, who came on for the disappointing Lopez at the start of the second half of the match with Nigeria.

Argentina will otherwise be unchanged with Gabriel Batistuta leading the attack in preference to Hernan Crespo. Key defender Roberto Ayala, Argentina's normal captain, is again ruled out with the thigh strain he incurred on the eve of the Nigeria match.

Bayer Leverkusen's Diego Placente will stand in for the injured skipper with Veron again wearing the captain's armband.