Cole wants Hargreaves in England midfield
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Joe Cole wants Owen Hargreaves to retain his place in midfield for England's clash today with Ecuador.
"You need a ball-winner in there," Cole told the Observer. "I think Owen won more tackles in the Sweden game than the rest of us did in the previous two. That's exactly what Maka does for Chelsea.
"If Owen nicks the ball in the middle third, that's when opponents are out of position. I got so many balls off him when he'd nicked it and I could get running at the full-back because they weren't doubling up. Tactically it was brilliant and he did really well.
"People think counterattacking is going from one end of the pitch to the other, but it's not. If you press right and win the ball in the right areas that's when you've got a window of maybe two or three passes to get the ball wide or forward. Teams are so organised now, you need to win it high up the pitch and that's what we've been working on."
On today's match with Ecuador, Cole said: "I think we are on an upward curve and, if we can iron out those little creases, we can really start kicking on.
"We're fit and strong and we've got some powerful runners in the team, we can keep the ball better than we have been doing. There are technical issues and tactical issues, but they are only little problems. We won our group, we have not conceded a goal from open play and now we've got to do the business."
"You need a ball-winner in there," Cole told the Observer. "I think Owen won more tackles in the Sweden game than the rest of us did in the previous two. That's exactly what Maka does for Chelsea.
"If Owen nicks the ball in the middle third, that's when opponents are out of position. I got so many balls off him when he'd nicked it and I could get running at the full-back because they weren't doubling up. Tactically it was brilliant and he did really well.
"People think counterattacking is going from one end of the pitch to the other, but it's not. If you press right and win the ball in the right areas that's when you've got a window of maybe two or three passes to get the ball wide or forward. Teams are so organised now, you need to win it high up the pitch and that's what we've been working on."
On today's match with Ecuador, Cole said: "I think we are on an upward curve and, if we can iron out those little creases, we can really start kicking on.
"We're fit and strong and we've got some powerful runners in the team, we can keep the ball better than we have been doing. There are technical issues and tactical issues, but they are only little problems. We won our group, we have not conceded a goal from open play and now we've got to do the business."
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