England News

• Nickname:Three Lions
• Founded: 1872
• Manager:Roy Hodgson

• Ground:Wembley Stadium
• Capacity:90,000

Owen hails perfect week

13 Sep 2007 - 09:11:30

Click To Enlarge

Striker Michael Owen says that things could hardly have gone any better for England in the last week, with Steve McClaren's side having seen off both Israel and Russia 3-0 at Wembley.

Owen netted twice against Russia to take his tally to 40 goals for England, having also scored in the victory over Israel four days earlier.

He said: "We couldn't have asked for any more out of the ten days together.

"We would have snapped people's hands off if they said we would win both games.

"We always said these two games were the important ones and we produced when it mattered. We know we've got the quality. All too often we haven't shown it.

"To win them both 3-0 is a massive confidence boost. We are in a much healthier position in the group than we were a couple of weeks ago.

"It's not often you get to enjoy a game with England and can take your foot off the gas but we've done that in the last two matches. But there is still plenty of work to be done."

Meanwhile, Owen was pleased with his own milestone, having become only the fourth Englishman to score 40 international goals.

He added: "I've been playing for my country for nearly ten years now and hopefully there are a few more to come, but to get to 40 goals is a great milestone.

"It's something to look back on with pride and only three others have achieved it."