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England makes last eight Goals from Ferdinand, Owen, Heskey send Danes homePosted: Saturday June 15, 2002 7:03 AMUpdated: Saturday June 15, 2002 1:11 PM
NIIGATA, Japan (Reuters) -- England, inspired by captain David Beckham, swaggered into the quarterfinals of the World Cup on Saturday after crushing Denmark 3-0 in a pulsating second round clash. (Match analysis.) Striker Michael Owen scored his first goal of the tournament, central defender Rio Ferdinand scored his first goal for England and Emile Heskey added a third as Sven-Goran Eriksson's side tore Denmark's much-vaunted defense to shreds in under 45 minutes. (Fans rejoice as England advances.) The comprehensive victory matched England's morale-boosting 1-0 win over archrivals and pre-tournament favorites Argentina in the group stages and sets them up for a quarterfinal against either Brazil or Belgium. "I think we deserved it. Maybe we were a little bit lucky. Maybe 3-0 is too much but we won it and we are in the quarterfinals," England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson said.
England are now joint second favorites behind Brazil to win the World Cup. Brazil are 5-2, England and Spain are 4-1. The first half was a nightmare for Denmark on Saturday, with goalkeeper Thomas Sorensen found wanting on two of the goals and defender Thomas Helveg forced to leave the field with a head injury following Ferdinand's 5th minute goal. "Just before halftime we made a mistake and the match is over because to score three goals against England is almost impossible," Danish coach Morten Olsen said. England scored only two goals in their three group games and on Saturday they won the crucial battle in midfield, thanks largely to an outstanding Nicky Butt. Ferdinand and Sol Campbell, earning his 50th cap as did substitute Teddy Sheringham, marshaled a defense which at times rode its luck but has conceded only one goal in its four games. England made a dream start when Sorensen, who plays for Sunderland in the English premier league, bundled Ferdinand's sideways header over the line from a Beckham corner in the fifth minute. Sorensen made up for the howler by denying Heskey, but was helpless in the 22nd minute when Owen spun round to finish off a neat three-man move in the area from five meters. Heskey made it three in the 44th minute, crashing home a first-time shot from the edge of the area after neatly being picked out by Beckham. Ebbe Sand should have pulled one back for the Danes after dodging past both Ferdinand and Campbell, only to skew his low shot wide of the right-hand post. England refused to sit back in the second half, with Sorensen forced to tip over a dipping 25-metre drive from Beckham, while Denmark searched in vain for a game they had already lost. England reached the semi-finals in 1990, when they were knocked out by Germany on penalties. It was England's 11th competitive unbeaten match, a run stretching back to their opening World Cup qualifier in October 2000, when they lost 1-0 to Germany in the last match at Wembley.
Denmark, who eliminated defending champions France in the group stage, failed to score for the first time in a World Cup finals match. It was their 13th finals game. Eriksson said Brazil, who play Belgium on Monday, were looking strong. "I think with how they are playing at this moment they are one of the favorites." He said Owen had come off in the second half with a groin strain. "We don't think it's a bad one and he'll be available for the next game." (Owen says groin injury not serious.) He said midfielder Paul Scholes had twisted an ankle. "Again, it's not too bad," he added. "Now we have six days before the next game. We have time to rest, recover and heal the injuries," he added. Earlier Germany became the first team to reach the quarterfinals, with a 1-0 defeat of Paraguay. Beckham and Owen delightedEngland captain David Beckham was delighted with the 3-0 World Cup win over Denmark on Saturday in the second round. "We have done our job, we won 3-0. We played really well in the first half, we played some good football and defended really well right throughout the team [and] in the second half we just made sure of it," he told BBC television. Beckham's corner led to the first goal by Rio Ferdinand in the fifth minute. "I work on those every day, crossing the ball, corners and freekicks, and it's nice when one comes off. When you've got guys like Rio and Sol [Campbell], big lads in there, you can put it right on top of their heads." Striker Michael Owen scored his first goal of the tournament and strike partner Emile Heskey got the third. "[I'm] pleased for Michael. It's nice for Michael to get his first goal and Emile needed it because the whole team came under a bit of stick after the last game, but we've gone out there and done our jobs today," Beckham said. "Denmark are a good team with some good individual players but we worked hard as a team and it paid off." England play Brazil and Belgium next in the quarterfinals. "I'm not bothered [who they play next week]. Both teams are good teams but whoever we play we're in the quarter-finals and we're happy." Owen said: "It was good to score early on and then get another couple more. it's a lot easier for the team and it helped us settle down. "I never managed to score [in the first round] but being a strikeri n the England side you are going to be involved in a lot of movement and I played a part in helping the team getting through and thankfully I got off the mark today." Owen was substituted with a groin injury shortly after halftime. "I felt something in my groin after a couple of minutes. I could have stayed on but when you're 3-0 up at halftime and looking like winning there is no point in doing anything stupid or risking it in the second half," he said. Tomasson fit for Danes; England makes no changesStriker Jon Dahl Tomasson passed a late fitness test to spearhead Denmark's attack in Saturday's second round clash against England. Tomasson, with four goals at the World Cup, only managed a light training session on Friday after sustaining a groin injury in the 2-0 win over France. Another injury doubt, midfielder Stig Toefting, was also declared fit. He had been suffering from a foot injury. England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson kept faith with the team that started in the 0-0 draw with Nigeria, which clinched a place in the second round. That meant Trevor Sinclair was again on the left side of midfield, and Michael Owen was partnered by Liverpool teammate Emile Heskey. Neither striker has scored in the World Cup so far. The match was to be played in cool conditions following heavy rainfall on the eve of the match. SummaryDenmark 0 England 3 - result World Cup, second round Scorers: Rio Ferdinand 5, Michael Owen 22, Emile Heskey 44 Halftime: 0-3; Attendance: 40,582 Yellow cards: Denmark - Stig Tofting 24 England - Danny Mills 50 Halftime: 0-3; Attendance: 40,582 Teams: Denmark (4-4-2): 1-Thomas Sorensen; 3-Rene Henriksen, 4-Martin Laursen, 6-Thomas Helveg (20-Kasper Bogelund 7), 12-Niclas Jensen; 2-Stig Tofting (14-Claus Jensen 59), 7-Thomas Gravesen, 8-Jesper Gronkjaer, 19-Dennis Rommedahl; 9-Jon Dahl Tomasson, 11-Ebbe Sand England (4-4-2): 1-David Seaman; 2-Danny Mills, 3-Ashley Cole, 5-Rio Ferdinand, 6-Sol Campbell; 4-Trevor Sinclair, 7-David Beckham, 8-Paul Scholes (23-Kieron Dyer 49), 21-Nicky Butt; 10-Michael Owen (9-Robbie Fowler 46), 11-Emile Heskey (17-Teddy Sheringham 69) Referee : Markus Merk (Germany) Linesmen: Heiner Mueller (Germany), Evzen Amler (Czech Republic)
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