Lehmann questions English bottle
Lehmann questions English bottle
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Wednesday, 07, Jun 2006 11:10
Arsenal and Germany goalkeeper Jens Lehmann has claimed that England lack the bottle to win the World Cup.
Lehmann will feature for the host nation in the opening game of the tournament against Costa Rica after beating Bayern Munich's Oliver Khan to the German number one slot.
However, he insists that fellow competitors, and potential second round opponents, England don't have the mental resolve to make it all the way.
"The English know that we (Germany) have always been more successful than them during tournaments," Lehmann said.
"We are ahead of them with our World Cup experience because we know how to do the job better than England and that is instilled in the back of their minds."
The 36-year-old is hoping to make up for the disappointment of being sent off during the Champions League final by going far at the tournament in Germany.
However, he could come up against the English in the second round should one team come first in their group and the other second.
If this does happen, he insists that Germany's previous experience of reaching the latter stages of competitions will give them the edge.
"They know how to perform and how to play quick and efficient football," Lehmann added.
"What they don't know is how to go through a whole tournament because they have had a lot of disappointment in recent tournaments."
Germany could be without captain Michael Ballack for the first game against Costa Rica after the Chelsea midfielder limped out of training today.
The 29-year-old hadn't trained since picking up a calf injury in the friendly against Colombia last Friday.
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