Cahill calm but confident

England vice-captain Gary Cahill hopes the
Three Lions can carry their impressive form
in qualification into their Euro 2016
campaign which kicks off today (Saturday).
Roy Hodgson’s side go into the tournament as one of the
dark horses, but there should be no shortage of
confidence within the squad after they came through
qualifying with a 100 per cent record.
England have been drawn in Group B alongside Russia,
who they play in their opening game tonight, Wales and
Slovakia, and Cahill tells the official Chelsea website a
squad which have come a long way over the last couple
of years fear nobody.
‘We’re confident,’ says the Chelsea defender, who missed
the tournament four years ago due to a fractured jaw.
‘The reaction we had since the World Cup has been
terrific. It went from not doing well and things not going to
plan, to seeing if we could produce a reaction as a group.
The manager changed a few things in terms of our style
of play and it’s really worked well. Everybody’s bought
into it and the qualifying campaign has been terrific.
‘It doesn’t matter what people say about which teams
were in the group or weren’t in the group, a record was
broken. To have 10 wins and no defeats is a record in
itself so we should be proud. We want to stay under the
radar, knowing we’ve been improving as a squad, but we
know what we can do.’
Since qualifying, England have been preparing for the
finals by facing strong European opposition in friendly
encounters. Despite the fact there have been a couple of
setbacks, most notably the defeats against Spain and the
Netherlands, the 3-2 win in Germany, when they came
from behind having trailed 2-0, showcased the quality
among the current crop of players.
‘It showed what we have in the group in terms of
character,’ acknowledges Cahill . ‘Things in the game
hadn’t been going to plan; we went 2-0 down, our backs
were against the wall and we were playing away in
Germany. At that point you either feel sorry for yourself
and accept the loss, or you do what we did and turn the
game around. We never gave up or thought we were out
of it and that was the most pleasing aspect.
‘I knew beforehand that we would be judged on the
friendlies. We lost against Spain and all of a sudden we’re
not good enough against the big teams, it’s so obvious
what the reaction was going to be.
‘I joked about it saying the best thing we could do is draw
all of the games because if you win them all you’re going
to win the Euros, lose them all and you’ve got no chance.
We performed well in the France game, kept a clean
sheet. Even in qualifying we kept five clean sheets in a
row. Germany was great and obviously the game against
Holland was disappointing, but they were all good tests
for us.’
Over the course of the last two years, following a
disappointing World Cup campaign in Brazil when England
exited at the group stage having failed to win a game, the
squad has changed significantly.
The likes of Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard are no
longer involved, while Cahill , along with Wayne Rooney
and Joe Hart, is viewed as one of the more experienced
players in the squad, emphasised in Hodgson’s decision
to appoint him as vice-captain.
‘You look at the squad now and it’s totally different to
how it was just after the World Cup and it’s changing all
the time,’ Cahill adds. ‘You never know who is going to
come up. In every position there’s always someone
behind you.
‘I enjoy the responsibility because the group of players is
so easy to get on with. There are no egos or people who
think they’re better than they are. Everybody’s level-
headed which I think is why we’ve done so well. It’s a
really friendly atmosphere and it works well for us.
‘When you get called up for your country it’s special,
when you captain your country it’s extra special and
nobody can take that away from you. I know it doesn’t
last forever but the more I can do it the better.’
In Brazil, England were up against it from the moment
they lost their opening fixture 2-1 to Italy and, according
to Cahill , important lessons have been taken on board.
‘Obviously the Wales game is the one England fans will be
looking at, and I’m sure the atmosphere will be incredible,
but for us the first game is the most important one, we
learnt that at the World Cup,’ he explains.
‘If you don’t get a good result in the first game all it does
is increase the pressure, which isn’t good. Having
pressure makes you play your best football but you need
to have the right balance, we need to get off to a good
start.’
England’s best showing at a European Championships
was back in 1996 when, with the tournament on home
soil, they reached the semi-finals where they were cruelly
beaten on penalties by Germany. Cahill is well aware of
just how much it would mean if they were able to go all
the way this time around.
‘It would be unbelievable; it’s crazy to even talk about it,’
he says. ‘You see the team from 1966 and wherever they
go they’re welcomed with open arms, the impact that had
was incredible. To be part of something like that would be
absolutely phenomenal. It’s genuinely what dreams are
made of so let’s wait and see.’
England fixtures (kick offs UK times):
Saturday 11 June: England v Russia at 8pm
Thursday 16 June: England v Wales at 2pm
Monday 20 June: Slovakia v England at 8pm