England need FA Cup final spirit at World Cup

LONDON, May 18: England must be ready to repeat Liverpool's FA Cup final heroics if they want to make progress at the World Cup, says defender Jamie Carragher.

In one of the Cup's greatest finals, Liverpool twice came from behind to snatch a 3-3 draw with West Ham United before their exhausted players won a penalty shoot-out in Cardiff last weekend.

Carragher drew a parallel between the stakes in a Cup final and a World Cup game, when players could be making their last appearance in either competition.

''The FA Cup is every year and the World Cup is every four years - but who knows when you're going to be in an FA Cup final again,'' he told reporters at the team's training camp in Portugal.

''In a World Cup game, if there's 20 minutes to go and the score's not going right, you know it could be another four years (to wait) -- and some players may never get the chance again.

''So it does become a life and death thing, where you've just got to give it everything.'' Liverpool certainly gave it everything in Cardiff and the pressure paid off when Carragher's club and England team mate Steven Gerrard scored his second goal -- a vital stoppage-time equaliser.

''Credit to us at the weekend, with how many players went down with cramp and we kept going,'' said Carragher. ''And that's probably what you need in a World Cup.

''There are times when it's going to be tough and you are going to be up against it, but if England are going to win this World Cup it's not going to be easy.

''I do think you need that, going through that pain barrier in order to get the rewards.'' Though Liverpool's triumph mirrored their Champions League final success in 2005, when they came from 3-0 down to draw 3-3 and beat AC Milan on penalties, Carragher knows the risks they ran.

Against the best teams in the world, should England reach the latter stages in Germany, they may not be so fortunate.

''It doesn't always work out,'' said the defender, who will go to the finals as a reserve.

''Who knows how it will work out against better opposition.

Obviously, respect to West Ham, but we were probably expected to beat them.

''But in the World Cup there will be teams we'll come up against where England may be slight underdogs. And if you're down you have just got to go for it.''

REUTERS