England National Football Team Match No. 757

Hungary 1 England 1 [0-1]

Wednesday, 28 April 1999

England Pre-Match

All information is complete to and including the match against Poland on 27 March 1999.

Notes

Thursday, 15 April 1999 - Liverpool and England striker Michael Owen will miss at least the next three months with a hamstring injury.  Owen limped off in the 0-0 draw at Leeds United on Monday night and had a scan in hospital on the injured leg the following day.  The medical tests have revealed a worse problem than Liverpool originally thought and he will miss the rest of the season.  With fellow striker Robbie Fowler due to begin a six match ban on April 26th the Anfield club are set to give the green light to his appeal against the ban. That will delay any missed matches for Fowler until the start of next season depending on the outcome of the rarely used appeals procedure by the English FA's disciplinary committee.  Owen will also miss three England matches including two vital Euro 2000 qualifiers in the first nine days of June. The Fowler ban will also harm the England squad unless Liverpool decide to fight the six match sentence this week.  Injuries to Owen and Chris Sutton mean the England strike force to play Hungary later this month could look thin as several clubs are unwilling to release players to travel to Budapest for the game with the climax of the Premiership season approaching.  Owen will have a complete rest after treatment to mend a tear in the muscle and a tendon strain in the same leg. he has suffered pain in that leg before this season and will not start to train again until the summer. The muscle needs time to strengthen again after the treatment and he could miss the start of next season.

Tuesday, 20 April 1999 - Robbie Fowler is out of the England squad after being assaulted in a Liverpool hotel at the weekend.  Fowler sustained a broken nose following the attack by a Everton fan in the toilets and has had to rule himself out of the team due to face Hungary later this month.  Although the Liverpool striker has been banned from playing for the Merseyside club for the rest of the season he was still eligible to play for England and, up until this latest blow to his career, would have relished the chance to feature in the international.  The player will have to undergo a operation this Friday to repair the damage sustained to his nose and this, combined with his match bans ultimately puts him out of action until at least September.

Thursday, 22 April 1999 - Newly promoted Sunderland can claim two internationals before they have even kicked a ball in their next Premiership campaign after England coach Kevin Keegan named his squad for the friendly next week in Budapest against Hungary.  The emphasis is on young players but the surprise call-ups come from the North East and the new First Division champions.  Striker Kevin Phillips - an instinctive finisher in the penalty box - and wide midfielder Michael Gray are both included.  Gray is a fast left wing runner who has developed a defensive side to a game that had been dominated until two seasons ago by his crossing. Keegan obviously rates the pair and has also included young Leeds United central defender Jonathan Woodgate and Manchester United's Wes Brown.  Both are regarded as outstanding defensive prospects by their clubs but Woodgate has established himself with Leeds while Brown is not a regular first team player yet with United.  One feature of the final side will be an inexperienced midfield. The oldest player - Tottenham's Tim Sherwood has only one cap - but Keegan will watch the progress carefully of under-21 captain Frank Lampard Jr of West Ham United.  Strong Leicester City forward Emile Heskey finally breaks into the full England set up and is another graduate from the under-21 side and Sol Campbell is in the running to captain the side.  Title chasing clubs United and Arsenal have provided players after expressing doubts about the validity of the game in the climax to the club season.  But Keegan has left out Parlour, Adams and Beckham from his selection.

Sunday, 25 April 1999 - England's squad for the friendly against Hungary in Budapest on Wednesday evening has suffered six withdrawals.  Coach Kevin Keegan has responded with a call up for Everton's 18 year old striker Francis Jeffers.  He is a direct replacement for Manchester United striker Andrew Cole.  Cole scored the equaliser in the 1-1 draw at Leeds United that kept United just a point behind Premiership leaders Arsenal with a game in hand. Striker Cole, however, reported an injury after the game and Paul Scholes - who scored three goals against Poland last month - also withdrew.  Tottenham Hotspur defender Sol Campbell and Leeds player Jonathan Woodgate also reported injuries. Gareth Southgate and Graeme Le Saux will also not travel to Hungary.  Liverpool's under-21 defender Jamie Carragher has been called into the squad along with Everton's Michael Ball.  Jeffers is in contention to play in a new look England attack alongside Alan Shearer who will captain the side on Wednesday.  He is only a month older than Liverpool sensation Michael Owen and is regarded as one of the top young prospects in the Premiership.

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PY/CG