Sunday, June 13, 2010

Gareth Barry Fit for Algeria Match

There is good news in England camp as holding midfielder Gareth Barry has revealed that he would ‘definitely be available’ for the Algeria match. The news has come at a time when English fans are frustrated with England’s 1-1 draw against USA on Saturday.

England is one of the pre-tournament favorites for the World Cup, but the Three Lions were not at their best against the Americans. An early strike from captain Steven Gerrard put England ahead, but USA got the equalizer through a blunder by goalkeeper Robert Green.

The most important thing is that England could not dominate in the midfield and Barry’s absence was felt throughout the game. The Manchester City player has recently returned to training after getting over his ankle injury.

Gareth Barry said that his ankle is fine now and he could have even played against USA, if he was asked to do so.

Barry said to the media, “I've trained four times this week, the ankle feels great and there's no problem with that. Obviously in terms of real fitness and game fitness I'm short and that's probably what kept me out today. But after another week's training I'll be ready for Algeria. To be honest I would have played against the States if asked - the ankle feels fine.”

There are many who believe that England’s overall performance against USA was not impressive at all, and if they fail to raise their games in the coming weeks, then it could be another story of failure for the Three Lions.

In Group C, England has two more matches against Algeria and Slovenia on 18 June and 23 June respectively. Fans expect England would perform better in the coming matches, and if Barry can play to his best it would help them take more control of the midfield, and thus, reducing the pressure on the defense as well as on Gerrard and Lampard.



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