Source: SKY_Sports
World Cup a factor for Barry
// A bit of a hack but it works// The article snippet is wrapped onto a second line, even when #article-sub is emptyif( $("div#article-sub").children().length == 0 ) {$("div#article-sub").remove();} Gareth Barry has revealed that preparing for next year's World Cup was one of the reasons behind his move to Manchester City.[LNB] The England midfielder broke into the national squad while playing for previous club Aston Villa but believes that the spotlight on Eastlands may provide a better opportunity to stake his claim for a starting role in South Africa.[LNB]Barry thinks that City are now in a position to challenge the current top four Premier League clubs after their big-spending summer.[LNB]"There will be a lot of spotlight on us and the players we have," he said.[LNB]"Hopefully we can challenge the top four that have dominated for so long. I'm at a club creating a lot of headlines and it's very exciting. We just want a competitive game now and to start the season well.[LNB]"When you spend 12 years at a club it's always a big decision to leave, but hopefully my decision can be backed up by the way we play this year.[LNB]Confidence"The World Cup was in the back of my mind and I'm confident I can play a big part for Man City and go into the World Cup having hopefully qualified with a lot of confidence."[LNB]The 28-year-old is set to line-up for England when they face Holland in a friendly at the Amsterdam ArenA on Wednesday night.[LNB]Barry says that the contest will serve as a perfect tune-up for their all-important World Cup qualifying clash against Croatia on 9th September.[LNB]"You can understand why you want to play these games as we are playing a great team in Holland who have already qualified for the World Cup," he added.[LNB]"So it's a good test and it's a great build-up for Croatia. We have some tough memories of the home game against them which we can hopefully put right."[LNB]
