World Cup qual - Terry prefers attention on Spain

Eurosport - Sat, 06 Jun 14:32:00 2009

England skipper John Terry has said he is happy for Spain to receive all the hype ahead of next year's World Cup in South Africa.

2009 England John Terry - 0

Fabio Capello's men can take a huge stride towards the tournament if they defeat Kazakhstan in Almaty on Saturday then Andorra at Wembley on Wednesday.

"Build them right up in the World Cup and put the pressure on them," he said.

"They've got great players. Look at what they did in the Euros and in the Champions League.

"We've said too many times that England have got a real chance, but we'll stay well away from that this summer."

There will be no excuses in Almaty when England look to extend their 100 per cent record in Group Six. The grass at Central Stadium is predicted to be long and Terry would take a 1-0 win to edge closer to the 2010 finals.

Qualification could be wrapped up early next season, which would give Capello time to fine-tune the style of play he has developed with England.

"The manager has encouraged us, from day one, to play right from the back," Terry said.

"This manager hates it when we play long ball. He screams at the lads 'no long ball, no long ball'.

"We've got the players to get the ball down and play. We're not on the level of Spain, but we're not too far behind."

Matthew Upson, Joleon Lescott and Gary Cahill have been competing for the place alongside Terry, who feels there would be a place for Jamie Carragher too if the Liverpool defender came out of international retirement.

"We all understood his frustration, but we'd all like him to come out of retirement," Terry said. "But it's down to him to make that decision. Only he can do that."

Follow all the action from this weekend's World Cup qualifiers, including full LIVE commentary on the home nations in action and Ireland, right here on eurosport.yahoo.com!

PA Sport

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  1. With all due respect, 8 star players for England pulled­ out of a friendly against Germany back in Nov because­ they were "injured." At least 2 of those­ players went on and play a league game after they said­ they were injured. (Lampard scored 2 goals). And many­ of those 8 players went on and play in the Champions­ League game a few days afterward. It's kind of hard­ to expect players to play their best when they­ don't even show up.

    From elson l, on Sun 7 Jun 1:01AM

  2. Rooney is best ever England player way better then­ rubbish Ronaldo

    From t.knowles123, on Sat 6 Jun 2:48PM

  3. What is Terry on about, he would take a 1-0 win.­ I'd go out there and get a 5-0 win lets go for it!

    From t.knowles123, on Sat 6 Jun 2:47PM

  4. i just hope they dont sing the national anthem too loud­ or they risk being shot in the legs!

    From stevebullisgod, on Sat 6 Jun 2:37PM

  5. Looks like this guy takes some hypes sometimes. He is­ always loud mouthy and when defeated he cries like a­ torrent! Better change captains and give it to either­ Gerrard or Barry. All these chelsea players are just­ not normal.

    From duweb, on Sat 6 Jun 2:01PM

  6. 1."We're not on the level of Spain, but­­ we're not too far behind."

    Hahahaha

    From chechenr, on Sat 6 Jun 1:39PM

  7. TOUGH JOB FOR CAPELLO TO TEACH ENGLAND TO KEEP AND PASS­ THE BALL LIKE THE SPAINS ,BRAZIL, ARGENTINA, FRANCE­ ETC.THEIR RICHEST AND MOST FAMOUS FOOTBALLER [beckham]­ IS ALL ABOUT LONG BALLS SO NO WONDER MOST OF THEIR­ FOOTBALLERS CANNOT PLAY POSSESIVE FOOTBALL.ENGLAND IS­ FAR BEHIND THE TOP FOOTBALL COUNTRIES WHO ALL PLAY­ POSSESIVE AND PRODUCTIVE FOOTBALL

    From valach, on Sat 6 Jun 1:23PM

  8. As a Chelsea fan i admire Terry as a player but am­ disappointed he's come out and said what he has.­ It's only the British papers that'll be going­ into overdrive with the hype, i doubt very much there­ will be articles in Italian, German or Spanish papers­ saying how wonderful the England team is. Why do the­ media here always go over the top and build us up so­ much as we always fall flat on our faces in the end. I­ don't think we are among the favourites to win the­ WC as we're nowhere near as good as Spain,­ can't defend as well as Italy, lack the panache and­ flair of the french and don't have the same mental­ strength as the Germans. Until we're better with­ all these qualities i think the media here need to be­ more realistic. Quarter finals...at best - but no­ further.

    From Gizmo1, on Sat 6 Jun 1:12PM

  9. I love it when ever World cup and Euro championship­ comes around, just to read about how England are going­ to win them , its hilarious , Why dont they accept the­ fact that if it was a league they are only a mid table­ team , Good defense average midfield and a poor­ forward line!! But hey keep up the great writing , if­ it was a world cup for english sports journalists,­ England wuld win it every year... for typing BULL@#$%!!

    From puff the magic tampon, on Sat 6 Jun 1:03PM

  10. We need to find a couple of strikers quick. Defence­ & midfield are fine.

    From david b, on Sat 6 Jun 11:39AM

  11. Are you for real? Without fail,every competion the­ media and players hype themselves way beyond what they­ are capable of.not far behind spain?????? The media­ took a far whack for all the hype leading up to the­ Champions league final-granted,the national team and­ Man U are completely different,but my point is the­ sheer tunnel vision that is employed by large sections­ of the media-Yahoo included with their moronic comments­ about history and other such sh#t.But when we have the­ England captain almost putting them on par with­ spain,or even thinking that they stand a hope of­ lifting the world cup,something is wrong.Does he really­ need a manager to tell him that the long ball is not­ working????? Spain are a joy to watch,the skill,vision­ and fluid passing.England,on the other hand,never­ deliver on wat they promise.Some fantastic players,yet­ no team.How many more managers and tactics will they­ blame before they put in as much effort as they do in­ their club??? It seems to be ambition over collective­ talent when it comes to England. Which is a­ shame,becasue when my national team gets knocked­ out-Ireland-and they will.But we expext them to do­ their best -no more,no less.No grand delusions about­ winning it,never mind our captain,and succesive ones­ before him,claiming otherwise,it is England I cheer­ for.

    From Aran, on Sat 6 Jun 11:33AM
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  13. England don't have the players to keep the ball as­ long as spain and create the chances they do the only­ thing they got on spain is a better defense not­ attacking wise though just defensively.

    From garethtait1, on Sat 6 Jun 11:16AM

  14. You are too far behind Terry, you are..

    From Half A Brain, on Sat 6 Jun 11:11AM

  15. "We're not on the level of Spain, but­ we're not too far behind."

    LOL

    From dobressive, on Sat 6 Jun 11:08AM
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