Second Round Match Three



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English fans let the side down... and even the Wags are causing trouble

As 32m viewers in Britain wait anxiously for today's clash with Ecuador, riot police in Germany are mobilised as the English lose their cool. By Ruth Elkins


Eriksson: It's life or death but we will win

Sven-Goran Eriksson is confident that his reign as England manager will extend beyond this afternoon and says that his players have much more of a winning mentality than they did in Japan four years ago.

'I have never thought this will be my last game, never even dreamt of that,' Eriksson admitted as he prepared his players to face unfancied Ecuador in temperatures verging on the tropical at 35 degrees. 'The heat will not help us but World Cups are often played in conditions like this and we will just have to cope. We can't go on complaining about it.

'We have reached the stage of life or death for the team now, not just for me, and that is extremely exciting. I think we will thrive on it and firmly believe you will see a better performance from England. We will play good football and we will win.

Ecuador should give England a run for its money, after all this is a team that practices at 9000 feet, so that must cound towards something.