I Don't Want To Talk More

17 Aug, 2005 Denmark 4-1 England (International Friendly)

BBC: Denmark scored three goals in seven second-half minutes as England were humiliated in their final game before their World Cup qualifier in Wales.

Quotes:
Eriksson: "I'm angry about the second-half - it was a disaster how we played football. I told the players that if we play football like that we can forget about the World Cup. We were not helping each other and were all over the place."

Beckham: "The changing room was quiet afterwards. The only positive we can take is that it was a friendly game." "No it can't affect confidence. Whether we lost our shape a little bit and we didn't do the things we were told by the manager before the game, I don't know if that was the reason."

James: "Because I knew I wasn't going to start, for once I didn't do my starting preparations. Maybe I can get away with this one because it is a friendly and has no bearing on qualification. But I am representing England and I should have paid more attention."

Gerrard: "We have got quality, there's no doubt about that, but I think it was just a bad night at the office. You can look for excuses all night, but that second-half performance wasn't acceptable."

Lampard: "We've got great quality, but it doesn't matter what quality you have if you don't do the basic things. We cannot afford to play like that in qualifiers. We have had a real reminder at what is needed at this level."

G.Neville: "But freak results do happen sometimes. The Danish team is all right but it is nothing special. If we played them when it really mattered, we would win. They have some good players and decent pace but if we couldn't beat them in a competitive game we wouldn't deserve to be at the World Cup finals anyway."

Rooney: "To lose any game is bad enough but to lose 4-1 to Denmark, when you consider the talent we have, is awful. I don't want to feel like this again. It is horrible."

Owen: "It is hard when you only play 45 minutes. A lot of the goals I scored last season were in the second half when defenders get tired towards the end of games, that is when I can make my runs in behind them."

Defoe: "Obviously it would have been nice to have played longer."

J.Cole: "But we have to look forward. We'll learn from what happened and come back a better side. My message to the fans is just that sometimes these things happen. It's a good little wake up call for us, if you like."