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Gerrard: long balls crucial

20 November 2007 - 20:47

Steven Gerrard has emphasised the threat of his Liverpool teammate Peter Crouch against Croatia on Wednesday. England may attempt to use the lanky striker as a lone striker in their attempts to secure a point to guarantee qualification.

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"It's important we get crosses into the box early because Peter thrives on good deliveries," the England captain said.



"We can cause Croatia lots of problems with aerial balls into the box. We are confident we can win the game. We need to start really quickly, with a high tempo and let Croatia know we want this bad."



Gerrard admits he is determined to make sure England get the point they need so he can avoid a repeat of the misery that followed defeat in Russia last month.



"There was a lot of hurt and pain after the Russia result. I don't want to experience that on Thursday morning," he said.



"People assume because of the results on Saturday we can just turn up and get the point to qualify. We've still got to work hard and put in a big performance.



"We've been through a lot. Hopefully those experiences will make us stronger and make us improve. We need to go to the tournament having learned from the experiences."

Written by majicka