England in extra water plea

14 April 2012

England have made a special appeal to UEFA for extra water to be provided for their players at pitchside during this afternoon's crucial clash against Switzerland.

The teams face each other in Coimbra, a university town said to be the hottest place in Portugal.

Temperatures are expected to reach 95 degrees fahrenheit this afternoon and there have already been dehydration problems for several players from other teams during games that kick-off at 5pm.

The Football Association's request for water bottles to be placed all around the pitch, rather than just in the technical area in front of the dugout, was being made at a UEFA meeting today.

England had the same arrangement for their first Euro 2004 Group B match against France and so expect to receive a positive reply.

FA spokesman Adrian Bevington said: "We made a special request on Sunday to have the bottles placed around the pitch and I am sure they will agree to it again, although it is not part of the regulations." The last time England played in similar heat was during the World Cup quarter-final against Brazil two years ago but Sven-Goran Eriksson said today: "It was more humid in Japan and the players will be able to cope this time."

The England coach added: "It is very important that they drink and keep drinking. They will start three hours before the game, at 2pm. They need to consume two litres, one of which must be before the game.

"The expert medical advice is that, if you lose two per cent of your body weight during a match, you are 20 per cent down on your performance."

England coach Eriksson looks certain to recall John Terry after the Chelsea defender missed the first game with a hamstring injury.

Eriksson described Ledley King's performance in the 2-1 defeat against France as "fantastic" but will go back to his first choice pairing of Terry and Sol Campbell against the Swiss. "I have made up my mind about the team and it wasn't a difficult decision to make who to play at the back," said Eriksson.

He described Terry as a "leader" and said: "Maybe he will be an England captain one day but he will have to make a big fight with our present captain. I don't think he will take the armband from David Beckham."

Eriksson said that he had made up his mind on the tactics he will employ against Switzerland and there is speculation he will revert to the diamond formation he utilised with only limited success in the warm-up tournament against Japan in Manchester with Chelsea's Frank Lampard at the base of the diamond.

Eriksson said he was confident England would "make a good game" against the Swiss but warned: "It is dangerous if you believe this will be an easy match after France.

"We have 11 good footballers in the team but, in the heat, I don't want to see too many long balls. The Swiss like to play football and both teams know how to keep the ball and attack.

"If you think only attack though then it would be a big mistake. We need to be organised as usual and show discipline otherwise you are gambling and that is not good."

Terry for King is expected to be the only change in Eriksson's line-up. The only long-term injury victim is Nicky Butt, who is out of the tournament-with knee ligament problems but will stay with the squad for the time being. Paul Scholes will play after recovering from a twisted ankle.

ENGLAND: James (Man City), G Neville (Man Utd), A Cole (Arsenal), Campbell (Arsenal), Terry (Chelsea), Beckham capt (Real Madrid), Gerrard (Liverpool), Lampard (Chelsea), Scholes (Man Utd), Owen (Liverpool), Rooney (Everton).

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