Sport - Football

Steven Gerrard accepts criticism despite 5-1 victory

LONDON: Steven Gerrard accepts that England deserved to be criticised for a patchy performance against Kazakhstan even though the team won the World Cup qualifying game 5-1.

England took 52 minutes to score against a team ranked 131st in the world, conceded a sloppy goal and coach Fabio Capello had to make major tactical changes before his team scored three late goals for a flattering victory at Wembley.

The team was booed off the field at halftime and, despite a third win in a row in Group 6, was slammed by the media for failing to produce anything near its best form.

“You’ve got to live with that as a player,” Gerrard told reporters on Monday, two days before the team goes to Belarus aiming to make it four wins in four. “There are big expectations on this team. We are England. We expect to be successful and to have a good team that’s playing well so, when it doesn’t always click, you expect it (criticism).

“But, in the end, we got there on Saturday, a 5-1 win, and when you look at the bigger picture we are top of the group with three wins and confident that we can get the fourth on Wednesday.”

England will be without John Terry and Ashley Cole who have been ruled out of the Belarus game because of injuries. Terry missed Saturday’s victory over Kazakhstan because of a lingering back problem. Cole, who was booed by the England fans for a blunder that handed the visitor its goal, has picked up a hamstring injury. “They’re two big players and they’re experienced and we’re certainly stronger with them in the squad,” midfielder Gerrard said.

Rio Ferdinand captained England for the game at Wembley and is expected to do the same in Minsk. Wayne Bridge, Cole’s teammate at Chelsea, is his likely replacement on Wednesday. Cole was jeered repeatedly by fans after his misplaced backpass set up Zhambyl Kukeyev to make it 2-1 in the 68th minute.

The latest injury news is not the only concern for coach Fabio Capello, despite his team’s perfect start to qualifying for the 2010 World Cup. Capello is the latest England coach to struggle to pair Chelsea’s Frank Lampard and Liverpool’s Gerrard in their best midfield positions for the national team.

Both play top quality football for their clubs and like to play in central midfield.

Whenever they line up as a partnership for England, however, they struggle to find their best form. Gerrard has been frustrated in the past at being asked to play wide on the left. — AP

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