Michael Carrick will play for England against Ecuador tomorrow. He will play in a new 5-man midfield in a 4-1-4-1 formation. Wayne Rooney will play as a lone striker now that Michael Owen is injured. Owen Hargreaves, who is normally a midfielder and played in the holding midfield role against Sweden, will switch to right back as Gary Neville is still not quite match fit. The midlfield holding role will be filled by Carrick.
Since Sven Goran Eriksson took over as manager in 2001, England have played South American teams seven times and have won six of them. The only loss being the 2-1 Quarter Final defeat against Brazil in the 2002 World Cup.
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The Times June 24, 2006
Carrick to hold the aces for gambler Eriksson
From Matt Dickinson, Chief Football Correspondent, in Baden-Baden
THEY say that teams evolve at World Cup finals, but England’s appears to go through a daily revolution. Sven-Göran Eriksson is set to make a radical change to his starting line-up — yes, another one — with Michael Carrick drafted in from the fringes of the squad to the heart of a new five-man midfield.
Carrick is being lined up for the holding role in a 4-1-4-1 formation, with Owen Hargreaves switching to right back and Wayne Rooney the lone striker, against Ecuador tomorrow. It is another unexpected twist by the head coach and the sign of a man still casting around for his best side.
The team have trained in three different configurations in the past 48 hours but there is a strong expectation that Carrick, 24, will make his competitive debut in Stuttgart. While England are clear favourites to reach the quarter-finals, it is a big test for the Tottenham Hotspur midfield player, who should finalise a £13 million move to Manchester United as soon as he arrives home from Germany.
Spurs, who are still holding out for £15 million, are resigned to his departure and are ready to replace him with Didier Zokora, the Ivory Coast midfield player whom St-Etienne value at about £6 million.
Carrick has won only six caps since making his debut five years ago, the last as a substitute in the pre-tournament stroll against Jamaica, but Eriksson is hoping that his composure can help England to retain possession. It also allows the Swede to move Hargreaves to right back. The Bayern Munich player is bound to be frustrated — he attributed a poor performance in a B international against Belarus last month to “never playing there” — but the coaches are concerned that, in the absence of Gary Neville, who is recovering from a torn calf, they need Hargreaves’s dynamism to get the best out of David Beckham.
That means no place for the dependable Jamie Carragher, who now finds himself fourth- choice centre back. Sol Campbell is on standby if Rio Ferdinand feels any lingering effects of a groin injury.
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Possible line-ups
England (World ranking - 10th)
Paul Robinson
Owen Hargreaves
Ashley Cole
Rio Ferdinand
John Terry
Steven Gerrard
David Beckham
Frank Lampard
Michael Carrick
Joseph Cole
Wayne Rooney
Ecuador (World ranking - 39th)
Cristian Mora Rafael
Giovanny Espinoza
Iván Hurtado
Ulises de la Cruz Bernoid
Neicer Reasco Yano
Segundo Castillo
Luis Valencia Mosquera
Edison Méndez Méndez
Edwin Tenorio Montaño
Carlos Tenorio Medina
Agustín Delgado Chala
Since Sven Goran Eriksson took over as manager in 2001, England have played South American teams seven times and have won six of them. The only loss being the 2-1 Quarter Final defeat against Brazil in the 2002 World Cup.
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The Times June 24, 2006
Carrick to hold the aces for gambler Eriksson
From Matt Dickinson, Chief Football Correspondent, in Baden-Baden
THEY say that teams evolve at World Cup finals, but England’s appears to go through a daily revolution. Sven-Göran Eriksson is set to make a radical change to his starting line-up — yes, another one — with Michael Carrick drafted in from the fringes of the squad to the heart of a new five-man midfield.
Carrick is being lined up for the holding role in a 4-1-4-1 formation, with Owen Hargreaves switching to right back and Wayne Rooney the lone striker, against Ecuador tomorrow. It is another unexpected twist by the head coach and the sign of a man still casting around for his best side.
The team have trained in three different configurations in the past 48 hours but there is a strong expectation that Carrick, 24, will make his competitive debut in Stuttgart. While England are clear favourites to reach the quarter-finals, it is a big test for the Tottenham Hotspur midfield player, who should finalise a £13 million move to Manchester United as soon as he arrives home from Germany.
Spurs, who are still holding out for £15 million, are resigned to his departure and are ready to replace him with Didier Zokora, the Ivory Coast midfield player whom St-Etienne value at about £6 million.
Carrick has won only six caps since making his debut five years ago, the last as a substitute in the pre-tournament stroll against Jamaica, but Eriksson is hoping that his composure can help England to retain possession. It also allows the Swede to move Hargreaves to right back. The Bayern Munich player is bound to be frustrated — he attributed a poor performance in a B international against Belarus last month to “never playing there” — but the coaches are concerned that, in the absence of Gary Neville, who is recovering from a torn calf, they need Hargreaves’s dynamism to get the best out of David Beckham.
That means no place for the dependable Jamie Carragher, who now finds himself fourth- choice centre back. Sol Campbell is on standby if Rio Ferdinand feels any lingering effects of a groin injury.
----------------------------------------------
Possible line-ups
England (World ranking - 10th)
Paul Robinson
Owen Hargreaves
Ashley Cole
Rio Ferdinand
John Terry
Steven Gerrard
David Beckham
Frank Lampard
Michael Carrick
Joseph Cole
Wayne Rooney
Ecuador (World ranking - 39th)
Cristian Mora Rafael
Giovanny Espinoza
Iván Hurtado
Ulises de la Cruz Bernoid
Neicer Reasco Yano
Segundo Castillo
Luis Valencia Mosquera
Edison Méndez Méndez
Edwin Tenorio Montaño
Carlos Tenorio Medina
Agustín Delgado Chala
