The midfielder was forced to take his mind off the joyful camel rides and lazy days on the beach when he replaced Berndt Schneider on 68 minutes. Jürgen Klinsmann’s side won thanks to goals early in either half from Fabian Ernst and Thomas Brdaric. Germany have, of course, qualified for the 2006 World Cup by virtue of their hosting it, so we are already guaranteed of their swashbuckling presence when we skive off work in two years, but all others must earn their place.
Battle of Britain
In the Battle of Britain, Mark ‘I want to play at centre-back’ Delaney mysteriously disappeared during pre-match warm up at Old Trafford, and some reported seeing him feverishly stabbing a doll looking not dissimilar to Andy Mellville. The Fulham defender then suffered a recurrence of his knee injury and the Villa right-back was ‘forced’ to move across the back-line.
England dominated much of the game en route to a 2-0 win, though Delaney was his usual scrambling self as he denied the home side a number of opportunities with last-gasp blocks. He was occasionally turned by Wayne Rooney and more worryingly, Michael Owen got the better of him a couple of times, but overall he played well and strengthened the belief that his enthusiasm for the centre of the defence is not misplaced.
Scandinavian success