Double aim for birthday boy Lampard
Frank Lampard is aiming for a double celebration on his 28th birthday – to find the goals which have so far eluded him in the World Cup and to secure the England win over Sweden which would enable them to top their group.
Lampard has taken up some good attacking positions against Paraguay and Trinidad and Tobago but his finishing has been below the standard which brought 20 goals for Chelsea last season.
He is keen to recapture that touch against the Swedes – and in front of family members flying over to watch the game – when Sven-Goran Eriksson’s side need only a draw to finish at the head of their section.
Lampard said: “I’ve got all my family coming over for the game and there will be no better present than to score and be part of a good team performance and an England win.
“Steven Gerrard has got his first World Cup goal and I’d like to open my account. I felt I missed chances against Trinidad that might have won us the game.
“I was very happy with the result at the end but you look back at your own efforts and think ‘I should have scored there’.
“My game is about getting in the box. The moment I stop doing that is the moment I don’t score goals. I’d rather get in there and miss than flitting through a game without arriving in the box.
“You really want the next chance to come, I’m still getting chances and I just have to finish them off. The misses would have been even more on my mind if we hadn’t won the game.”
England have not beaten Sweden for 38 years but Lampard believes that will have little relevance to today’s showdown in Cologne. But he accepts England have to find another gear and play with high tempo and passion.
He said: “People point out our record against Sweden but that for me has no bearing on the game. It is an interesting fact and something we don’t like hanging over us.
“But this is a one-off game that is important for us to win and to top the group.”
Lampard insisted: “The team can improve. Maybe we can play at a slightly higher tempo. Our English game is about moving the ball fast and playing at that extra speed that we play with in our home league. Maybe we can do that in the upcoming games.
“We can play better. We have to find the right times to move the ball about quickly and playing to the strengths of what we have upfront.
“The right way for us to play is the English way in my eyes. We have that passion and when we have the ball and move it quickly we are very hard to defend against.
“When the other teams have the ball, we need to put them under pressure and work hard against them which we can do better than anyone else in the world.”
