Ashley Young seems unstoppable at the moment. His terrific club form with Manchester United has followed him to the England national team, which bodes well for Fabio Capello and his quest to reach the 2012 European Championships. In four games for United, Young has netted two goals and a stunning total of five assists. Yes, five. But his form has been just as impressive for the Three Lions with two goals and four assists in six caps (three starts).
Young’s confidence is at an all-time high and rightfully so. So much so that Young told Sky Sports News the following:
“I’m always confident going on the pitch and I’m even more confident now. I’m enjoying how things are going at the minute. Things have gone really well for myself and hopefully it can continue.”
After securing a 1-0 win against Wales on Tuesday, England are one point away from qualifying for next summer’s competition in Poland/Ukraine. The Three Lions missed out on the 2008 European Championship and will be relieved to be within one point of automatic qualification. England were able to secure the maximum six points from their two matches during the international break.
“We wanted to get six points out of both games and we’ve done that,” added Young.
“It’s in our hands. It’s going to be a tough game but I feel we can go there and get three points.
“It was a relief to get the goal and get the three points.
“We set out our stall from the word go to get the three points. Obviously, it wasn’t the best performance but getting the three points was what I think we deserved.”
In other news, defending European champions Spain romped Liechtenstein 6-0. Spain’s starting XI did not feature Chelsea striker Fernando Torres, and they did not miss a beat without the former Atletico Madrid talisman. Starting in his place was Alvaro Negredo, who bagged a brace in the opening 45 minutes. Xavi added a 45th minute goal to push the halftime lead to 3-0.
Cesc Fabregas replaced Xavi in Spain’s midfield following the halftime interval. Real Madrid defender Sergio Ramos netted in the 52nd minute and was taken off in favour of Barca starlet Thiago Alcantara four minutes later. Barcelona forward David Villa bagged a second half brace to run up the score. With their win, Spain officially booked their place into Euro 2012. Vicente del Bosque’s men will surely be amongst the favourites to retain their title. La Roja have been one of the toughest teams to beat in international play the last four years. As a result, they have won the last two tournaments they have participated in (Euro 2008, 2010 World Cup).
Can they do it again? Without a doubt, but Germany, Holland, Italy, France, England, Portugal, and other European powerhouses will be keen on making sure that does not happen.
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