Preview
Englang v Trinidad & TobagoDavid Beckham has pledged England will turn on the style as they attempt to secure their passage to the World Cup second round with victory over Trinidad and Tobago here today.
The Real Madrid star acknowledged that England were well below their best during a drab opening win over Paraguay and were determined to lay down a more convincing marker against the Caribbean minnows.
PHOTO: EPA
"The fans are aware of how we can play and the potential we have in our team," the England captain said.
"We do want to perform, we do want to excite, and we want to prove to people that we can play at this level and we can perform like the likes of Brazil, Argentina, Holland or Italy. There's no doubt in [my] mind that we can do it," he said.
A win over the "Soca Warriors" would be enough to see England into the last 16 and leave them favorites to qualify as winners of Group B.
PHOTO: AFP
England's players are anxious to put the disappointment of the Paraguay match behind them, when they wilted in the heat and looked anything but world champions-in-waiting.
With cooler temperatures expected in Nuremberg for a match that will kick off at midnight tonight Taiwan time, Beckham and his teammates are aware that anything other than a victory over Trinidad will be viewed as a disaster.
But even though Beckham has admitted it would be a "huge disappointment" if England failed to register a victory in a match they expect to win, he warned there would be no danger of complacency.
"We're not under-estimating them as a team but we have got a stronger team than them and we should do well and hopefully beat them. But this is football and the World Cup and we've seen already that teams that aren't as big as other teams can still play well and do well," he said.
Trinidad and Tobago pulled off the first shock of the tournament in their opening match, holding Sweden to a 0-0 draw despite being reduced to 10 men.
England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson had been reported to be considering introducing Wayne Rooney from the substitutes bench against Trinidad but it is now unlikely the Manchester United player will feature.
Rooney has returned to full contact training and is shooting at full force with his right foot, which has recovered from a fractured metatarsal bone.
Figures in the England camp are worried however that in his determination to prove his match fitness and spearhead the World Cup challenge, Rooney could injure himself again.
Either way, Eriksson is expected to continue with the 4-4-2 line-up that started against Paraguay, meaning that Michael Owen will get another chance to play himself into form alongside Peter Crouch.
Trinidad meanwhile will go into the match looking to write another chapter in what is rapidly emerging as the fairytale story of the finals.
Coventry striker Stern John said Trinidad and Tobago, the smallest nation ever to participate in the World Cup, had already proved they were worthy of their place in the finals.
"We know the England game will be very tough," John said. "You are only as good as your last game but we ground out a result against Sweden and hopefully we can build on it."
Trinidad's Dutch coach Leo Beenhakker -- who must be the only coach in the World Cup who bicycles to training -- has been in a relaxed mood this week, allowing fans into practice sessions for team autographs.
The 63-year-old former Holland and Real Madrid coach says Trinidad showed against Sweden that his players would not be intimidated by facing England's superstar line-up.
"The Swedes played with strikers from Juventus, Arsenal and Barcelona. We had lads from Jabloteh, Gillingham and Wrexham," he said.
"We're not talking mathematics here," Beenhakker said. "Normally two and two make four -- but in football they often make three or five."
Beenhakker has also questioned whether England are genuine title contenders, and believes they have struggled to gel as a unit.
"England have great players but they don't win tournaments and you have to ask yourself why," Eriksson said.
"It's like Real Madrid. You can have all of the stars in the world but if you cannot play as a team then the stars do not matter," he said.
England kick off against Trinidad and Tobago at midnight tonight, Taiwan time.
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