Carrick can help England stand the heat
Michael Carrick will be asked to help England beat the sweltering heat in Stuttgart tomorrow.
Sven-Goran Eriksson has been warned to expect searing temperatures of 35c in the Gottlieb-Daimler Stadium when his team face Ecuador.
It is England’s classic World Cup conundrum, playing in the baking summer afternoons against a South American team who keep the ball well.
Eriksson cannot ask his team to attack with a frantic English tempo after seeing them run out of steam against Paraguay earlier in the tournament.
The Swede wants them to slow the pace down and keep the ball and Spurs midfielder Carrick is the man he thinks will do that.
Eriksson said: “He is a good footballer, a good passer of the ball.
“He reads the game very well. He’s a good long passer, a good short passer.
“He deserves to be here and if he plays he deserves to play.”
Eriksson refused to confirm that Carrick would play in a 4-5-1 formation.
But the England boss has been practising with the new formation this week in training.
Eriksson said: “Sometimes we have kept the ball well but maybe not for the whole 90 minutes.
“It is important we keep it tomorrow and I think we will be better than in the first three games.”
The radical new plan, after three games with a 4-4-2 system, is for Carrick to sit in front of the back four and link up passes.
This should give Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard the freedom to support Wayne Rooney, who is expected to start up front on his own.
Eriksson said: “Ideally it would be to play excellent football and keep the same XI all the way through but that hasn’t happened.
“I said before the World Cup we need a different system apart from 4-4-2, the way we normally play.”
Rooney has played only 101 minutes of football since his comeback from a broken foot.
The Ecuador game could last 120 minutes if it goes to extra-time and the Manchester United star is unlikely to last all the way through.
Eriksson said: “I hope he is ready for 90 minutes. It is only the match which will decide that. It will be hot.”
The doubts over Rooney’s stamina present another reason to leave Peter Crouch fresh on the bench.
Eriksson only has only three recognised strikers since losing Michael Owen to injury and seems reluctant to expose Theo Walcott.
Owen’s absence must have been another factor in Eriksson’s decision to look at new tactics. Suddenly there was no reason to squeeze England’s top scorer into the starting XI.
Pitchside temperatures touched 33c as Eriksson put his players through their paces in Stuttgart’s stadium today. It is bowl-like arena with little breeze and little shade to offer relief to the players.
England’s players will be advised to take ice-baths at half-time as they did against Paraguay in Frankfurt when they suffered in the blazing afternoon sun.
Ice-baths are normally used for recovery after a game but a quick dip at half-time will keep body temperatures under control.
Eriksson said: “We have been talking about sleeping, eating, drinking and preparing ourselves as good as possible for the heat.
“Drinking is extremely important but it does not start one hour before the game. You start the day before the game.
“You have to drink as much as you can and get as much fluid as possible into the body.
“You can’t do that in half an hour, drink a litre or two of water and some sports drinks.
“They know it is going to be hot and if you see them, they always have a bottle in their hand before and after training.”
Rio Ferdinand completed a full training session today for the first time since suffering a slight groin strain against Sweden.
Eriksson expects Ferdinand to be fit to face Ecuador but Gary Neville will not play any part after suffering a setback to his recovery from a calf problem.
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