Ghana's Gyan puts penalty demons behind him

Asamoah Gyan is hoping he gets another chance of World Cup glory after finding himself at the centre of Ghana's heart-breaking exit last summer.

The 25-year-old Sunderland striker will run out against England at Wembley tomorrow night admitting his mind sometimes goes back to his last-gasp quarter-final penalty miss against Uruguay and the semi-final place it ultimately cost his country. However, he knows he is in good company and is confident he is young enough to be able to make amends in the future.

Gyan said: "Sometimes I do sit down and think about it because it would have been the first time an African team had qualified for the semi-finals, and it didn't happen due to that incident.

"But we have got more years, I am so young. Sometimes, I do think about it - maybe at the next World Cup, we can do something more. The penalty is forgotten. I just said to myself, there are bigger players than me who have missed that kind of penalty - Roberto Baggio, [Michel] Platini, Maradona. I will just put that behind me and concentrate on my career because if I keep on thinking about it, it is going to disturb me.''

If nothing else, Ghana's performances in South Africa marked them out as a team to be reckoned with, and they are determined to continue that process when they meet England for the first time. Gyan, who has enhanced his own reputation with his performances in the Premier League since making a ?13million-plus summer switch to Wearside from Rennes, admits playing at Wembley will be like taking part in the World Cup finals all over again.

He said: "We did so well at the World Cup. Before, people didn't know Ghana and we have proved to everyone by what we did at the World Cup that we are capable of doing something big. That's what we demonstrated at the World Cup and there will be much respect for us because we did very well. In football, anything can happen, so we will just go there and make sure we play our normal game against England. We promise we are going to give them a good match and we will see what happens.

"Everybody is expecting something positive. It is like a World Cup to Ghanaians because they have been looking forward to this game for a long time. We did so well in the World Cup and they would like to see more. But we are not playing an easy side, so it's a challenge to us. We have to demonstrate to them that what we did at the World Cup wasn't luck, we knew what we were doing. We have to prove to everyone what we are capable of.''

Gyan would like nothing better than to find the back of the net against England having enjoyed a good deal of banter with his English club-mates.

He said with a smile: "I am not going to predict - but even if I don't score and my country wins, I will be okay.''

source

Read more...

Milner - Squad behind JT

 Milner: Backing Terry

The Manchester City midfielder was quizzed by the media on Wednesday, as they wanted to gauge the reaction within the squad of Terry being handed the armband back.

But Milner insists the squad have taken the news well and it has had little impact on the players.

"It is just business as usual, the manager has made the decision and everyone is happy with JT," Milner said on Sky Sports News.

"It is obviously disappointing for Rio [Ferdinand, former captain] but he is a top player, great person to have in the squad and we are fortunate to have a number of leaders in this squad, John Terry, Rio Ferdinand obviously isn't here, Steven Gerrard, Gareth Barry, Lamps [Frank Lampard] but we need more than one leader in the team anyway.

"We all just want to pull together and win football matches, that is the biggest thing."

Milner admits Terry is an inspirational leader, adding: "He has shown it week in, week out in the Premier League, he puts his head in where most wouldn't.

"He leads on the pitch but off the field too and it is important to have that link with the management too and we have a number of senior players who will say what they think and you need to have that as a unit."

On Ferdinand being replaced he continued: "That's football, things change very quickly, it is unfortunate for Rio and he is a great captain too.

"It is gutting for him but when he gets back in the squad he will be leading too - there are people here who will lead whether they have the armband or not."

Milner has missed only one game since the World Cup, which was due to suspension, but he insists his place is not cemented.

"We are fortunate to have a lot of great players, there is always competition which is a good thing, you will always do as well as you can and always do your best. But the important thing is to win and qualify."

He also insists that he will play wherever he is asked, after featuring all over midfield for England.

"I will play where I am asked, I think my best position is in the centre, I showed that last season with Aston Villa but wherever the manager things I can do a job then I will contribute."

Milner admits the squad are looking forward to facing Wales, and admits it is different to a usual international clash.

"It is slightly different to what we are used to, this will be more like a Premier League game as you don't normally get derbies in international football," he said.

"But it should be a good game but hopefully we can play our game and get the points.

"They are a dangerous team with good players, it is going to be a great atmosphere and will be a tough game for us, we have to match them for, effort, determination, work-rate and then hopefully get the ball down and play."

On a possible defeat to Wales he replied: "I don't think it would be a disgrace, they have got good players, but we are not thinking about that - we know if we play to our capabilities then we will win the game."

Milner was also asked about England's progress since the disappointment of last summer's World Cup finals and what, if anything, had changed as was promised by coach Fabio Capello.

"I think we have started the campaign quite well, getting the confidence back after the World Cup, but we will take it one game at a time.

"There are a lot of new faces in the squad from the World Cup, we are lucky to have the younger players coming through and you need that mix in any team and hopefully we can keep working hard.

"We are going into every game to win, it will be tough but that is what we are going there to do.

"Ultimately we are just trying to get better and better, we have had a pretty good start to the campaign.

"The most important thing is that we are all as one unit."

View the original article here

Read more...