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Posts Tagged ‘Pleased’

Argentina striker Carlos Tevez was pleased to fire his side into the quarter-finals of the World Cup.

The Manchester City forward netted two goals as Argentina saw off the challenge of Mexico, the game ending 3-1 in Soccer City.

Tevez’s second was a joy to behold, as he rocketed a shot into the top corner from outside the area, leaving the goalkeeper with no chance.

Argentina now take on Germany on Saturday, and Tevez was delighted to be the man to secure their safe passage.

He said: “It’s important to have reached the quarters. As for my goals? Well, I just want to be effective.

“Now we have to relax a little ahead of going up against the Germans in the quarter-finals, four years after losing to them.

“We have to rest and be ready for that game.”

Mexico looked bright in the early stages of the clash in Johannesburg but were unable to get the opening goal.

Tevez was the man to break the deadlock, although he did so in controversial circumstances, as he was in an offside position when he headed in.

The 26-year-old admits Mexico made life tough for his side, but believes Argentina grew into the game.

He added: “The first couple of minutes were really difficult for us.

“We were not able to run the match. That made life hard for us. After that, it only got better.”

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Lloris pleased with French preparation

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Ledley King was delighted to make his long-awaited return to international football but admitted he can improve in an England shirt.

The Tottenham defender marked his first appearance for the Three Lions in almost three years with a goal on Monday night as England waved goodbye to home soil ahead of the World Cup with a 3-1 win over Mexico.

Despite the result, it was not an entirely impressive performance from Fabio Capello’s side and players such as Michael Carrick and Theo Walcott struggled to impress on a night when plans will have been made for next Tuesday’s whittling down of a 30-man squad to 23.

Although his headed goal was taken with superb reflexes, King was another who looked a little shaky when defending and he was at times caught out by the speed of Mexico’s counter-attacks.

The Spurs man was pleased to be playing for England again, but acknowledged that he can do better, saying: “I wouldn’t say it was one of my best games but it was tough out there. They are a good side.

“They move the ball quickly, they’ve got good movement and the manager made it known at half-time that we weren’t getting tight enough. We came out in the second half and did a lot better.”

Upbeat

King has been hampered by chronic knee injuries throughout his career, but he was upbeat about his chances of playing at the World Cup.

“As regards my fitness, the knee is okay, the more I play the fitter I get. I’ve ended the season with three games in 10 days and we’ve got a great set-up here,” he said.

“The medical staff are doing a brilliant job to help me prepare for the games. I’ll try and be as fit as I can and we’ll see where it goes.”

Jamie Carragher also made his return to England duty having performed a U-turn regarding his international retirement and the Liverpool man was happy to partner King at centre-back as a second-half replacement for Rio Ferdinand.

General consensus suggests the 32-year-old has been selected as a right-back by Capello and he will also be happy to play a versatile role.

Carragher told Sky Sports News: “It (centre-back) is my best position; I think everyone is aware of that. But if you look at the squad maybe the manager does see me playing a different position.

“Maybe that is something that I have to adapt to and do whatever the manager says.”

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