England skipper http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Steven-Gerrard-c34196 revealed that his side were completely focused on their next game against co-hosts Ukraine on Tuesday, instead of looking ahead into the knock-out stages of the tournament.
The Three Lions, who have never won the European Championships, will lock horns against Ukraine in a match in which a win for either side will guarantee them a place in the quarterfinals. However, England are only in need of a single point for progression,
as a draw will not be good enough for Oleh Blokhin’s unit to go through into the next round.
With scales heavily tipped in England’s favour, Gerrard refused to be drawn into the discussions of the Three Lions chances of lifting the title, insisting that there is still a lot of work to be done before they can put their thoughts on the later stages
of the tournament.
He told the reporters in an interview, “I am trying to force myself not to even talk about quarter-finals at this stage. It would be very disrespectful to the opposition, who are very dangerous judging by the tapes we have watched of them.”
Even though Ukraine will go into the game as the underdogs, there will be little doubts over their ability and potential to force an upset amongst the English squad, after seeing them pull out a thrilling 2-1 win against http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Sweden-c3015.
Gerrard felt that http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Ukraine-c3032 are likely to pose problems for his team in the midfield and around the box, and wants them to keep their expectation level under check, as their chances of going through are still hanging in the balance.
England are notorious for drawing big hype and sensationalism over their chances before the start of major competitions, and eventually failing to deliver on big stage.
The Three Lions were heavily tipped to win the World Cup in 2010, as they boosted a star studded squad at that time which were being labelled by many as the ‘golden generation’ of English football.
However, they were humbled out by rivals http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/England-c749 crashed out of the tournament, scoring just three goals in their four matches.
Nevertheless, Gerrard felt that the things were a lot different this time around as the atmosphere in the dressing room is more positive and upbeat than what it was in 2010.
He added, “Everyone knows that in http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/South-Africa-c757 the team weren’t playing at a good level so it becomes difficult and hard work. But we can’t wait for this game because when you are playing well it breeds confidence and belief.”
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