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Gareth Barry warns England must not get carried away going into Euro 2012 after beating Spain & Sweden
The Three Lions achieved back-to-back wins at Wembley in the recent round of international games, but the Manchester City man says they must learn from World Cup disappointment
17 Nov 2011 08:52:00
By Jack Breeze
Getty Images
Gareth Barry has warned his England team-mates not to get carried away ahead of next summer’s Euro 2012 finals.
England continued their unbeaten run this year with a 1-0 victory over world champions Spain on Saturday at Wembley.
The Three Lions' 2,000th goal of all-time then came courtesy of a deflected Barry header in the 22nd minute of Tuesday's game against Sweden, which was enough for a first win over the Scandinavians in 43 years.
But the midfielder is keeping a cool head, saying the team must learn from their disappointing World Cup last year having entered the competition off the back of a strong qualifying campaign.
"Everyone knows the way we qualified last time for South Africa 2010, the expectations went through the roof,” he told The Guardian.
"We flew through the group, didn't concede many goals and played some great stuff. When it comes to the business end, the tournament, that is where you need to perform and get that winning habit.
"At the minute we've got that, but we've got to try and take that all the way to the tournament."
Barry insists there will be no over-the-top expectations for next summer’s finals, adding that England did not outplay Spain and admitting the World Cup winners are a better team.
He said: "Everyone knows football. The way the game went against Spain shows they are beatable on the day but they are a fantastic team. They kept the ball and showed they are probably a step above us in terms of quality.
"But the way the game went means the expectations aren't going to go through the roof. We've not outplayed Spain. They've dominated, but the important thing is we proved we can beat them and that could be important for the future."
England have been seeded in Pot 2 for Euro 2012 which means they could be drawn against Spain or the Netherlands, and Barry admits that the Three Lions are not the strongest team.
“You can look at it very deeply and say Spain are a better team," he continued.
"We can't say we are going into it as the best team in the tournament because we probably know we are not. On our day, we can beat them."
England ended the year unbeaten in nine matches, and with their next game against the Netherlands in February, the 30-year-old is aware that they will need to maintain their form.
"It will be another tough game, they are number two or three in the world at the moment," he added.
"They were World Cup runners-up. It will be another fantastic test for us against real quality players, exactly what we will need at that stage of the season.
"That is why it was so important the manager looked at so many things in these two friendlies. One more game is not too much. It is up to the players now to perform for their clubs. That is what everyone has got to try and do.
"You are probably looking at 30 to 35 players who have got a realistic chance of coming in. With the way these games have gone, no one has let themselves down."
The game against Sweden saw Fabio Capello give some of his younger talents a chance, with Jack Rodwell, Kyle Walker and Phil Jones all impressing.
And Barry picked up on Jones’ impressive start to this season, with the youngster comfortable taking up a holding midfield role despite being a natural defender.
"Probably you've got to look at Phil Jones, playing out of position, he looked as if he has played there all his career, it is not his natural game," he said.
"The players coming through are there now. There are more options. The manager has got to be very pleased with the way these two games have gone and the way the players have adapted. The younger players have come in and shown great confidence. The confidence is there. The momentum is there. But we've got to keep it going because there are tougher tests ahead.
"Spain was a completely different game to Sweden but we got over the line in both of them. The way you adapt and play against different teams and different styles is going to be important. It was great we did do that."
England continued their unbeaten run this year with a 1-0 victory over world champions Spain on Saturday at Wembley.
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The Three Lions' 2,000th goal of all-time then came courtesy of a deflected Barry header in the 22nd minute of Tuesday's game against Sweden, which was enough for a first win over the Scandinavians in 43 years.
But the midfielder is keeping a cool head, saying the team must learn from their disappointing World Cup last year having entered the competition off the back of a strong qualifying campaign.
"Everyone knows the way we qualified last time for South Africa 2010, the expectations went through the roof,” he told The Guardian.
"We flew through the group, didn't concede many goals and played some great stuff. When it comes to the business end, the tournament, that is where you need to perform and get that winning habit.
"At the minute we've got that, but we've got to try and take that all the way to the tournament."
Barry insists there will be no over-the-top expectations for next summer’s finals, adding that England did not outplay Spain and admitting the World Cup winners are a better team.
He said: "Everyone knows football. The way the game went against Spain shows they are beatable on the day but they are a fantastic team. They kept the ball and showed they are probably a step above us in terms of quality.
"But the way the game went means the expectations aren't going to go through the roof. We've not outplayed Spain. They've dominated, but the important thing is we proved we can beat them and that could be important for the future."
England have been seeded in Pot 2 for Euro 2012 which means they could be drawn against Spain or the Netherlands, and Barry admits that the Three Lions are not the strongest team.
“You can look at it very deeply and say Spain are a better team," he continued.
"We can't say we are going into it as the best team in the tournament because we probably know we are not. On our day, we can beat them."
England ended the year unbeaten in nine matches, and with their next game against the Netherlands in February, the 30-year-old is aware that they will need to maintain their form.
"It will be another tough game, they are number two or three in the world at the moment," he added.
"They were World Cup runners-up. It will be another fantastic test for us against real quality players, exactly what we will need at that stage of the season.
"That is why it was so important the manager looked at so many things in these two friendlies. One more game is not too much. It is up to the players now to perform for their clubs. That is what everyone has got to try and do.
"You are probably looking at 30 to 35 players who have got a realistic chance of coming in. With the way these games have gone, no one has let themselves down."
The game against Sweden saw Fabio Capello give some of his younger talents a chance, with Jack Rodwell, Kyle Walker and Phil Jones all impressing.
And Barry picked up on Jones’ impressive start to this season, with the youngster comfortable taking up a holding midfield role despite being a natural defender.
"Probably you've got to look at Phil Jones, playing out of position, he looked as if he has played there all his career, it is not his natural game," he said.
"The players coming through are there now. There are more options. The manager has got to be very pleased with the way these two games have gone and the way the players have adapted. The younger players have come in and shown great confidence. The confidence is there. The momentum is there. But we've got to keep it going because there are tougher tests ahead.
"Spain was a completely different game to Sweden but we got over the line in both of them. The way you adapt and play against different teams and different styles is going to be important. It was great we did do that."
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21:50 BST -
And here are some quotes from today's goalscorer, Danny Welbeck: "It's still the same, me and Ashley [Young] playing together.
"We know each other's games and obviously we're training with each other day in and day out.
"So, it was really good to start up top with him."
"We know each other's games and obviously we're training with each other day in and day out.
"So, it was really good to start up top with him."
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