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France snatch World Cup berth
(China Daily)
Updated: 2005-10-14 06:11
Frank Lampard sent England off to the World Cup on a high with a spectacular
late winner as Sven-Goran Eriksson's under-fire side beat Poland 2-1 at Old
Trafford to clinch top spot in Group Six.
Stand-in skipper Michael Owen had capped a lively first half display from
England by firing them ahead in the 43rd minute.
All that good work looked like being cancelled out when Polish substitute
Tomasz Frankowski took advantage of a mix-up to grab an equalizer seconds before
the break.
But Lampard popped up eight minutes from the end to claim the winner with an
acrobatic volley and ease the pressure on Eriksson.
"There will always be critics," said the Swede.
"We have managed to turn it around. We started the season so and so, but now
we are there, we have won the group and if we keep this spirit and this quality
it is always difficult to beat us."
Italy, who booked their place at the finals last weekend, beat Moldova 2-1 in
their last Group Five match in Lecce.
Alberto Gilardino scored the winner five minutes from time.
Alessandro Del Piero boosted his hopes of claiming a place in Marcello
Lippi's World Cup squad with an inspiring display.
"This game was an important step forward," said the
30-year-old forward. "I'm very satisfied. To have scored would have been the
icing on the cake but the important thing was to play well."
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