Euro 2012: England ready for Sweden test, says Welbeck

England striker confident of success, eyes improvement.

KRAKOW: England striker Danny Welbeck is confident his teammates will be able to raise their game against Sweden after an opening draw with France.

The 21-year-old Manchester United star has established himself as Roy Hodgson’s first-choice centre-forward at Euro 2012 and is poised to lead the line once more against the Swedes in Kiev tomorrow. England’s performance against the French has been criticised in some quarters as overly defensive but Welbeck believes the result has given the team a sturdy platform to build on.

“I think the France game, as a start for us, we set out our platform,” said Welbeck. “We really want to build on that from now on. I think we can improve a lot more.”

Topless Croatian fan
faces rap

Meanwhile, a Croatian civil servant who bared her breasts to celebrate her team’s win at Euro 2012 could be disciplined at work, her employers warned.

Topless photos of a joyous Jelena Miksa swamped Internet portals, local media and social networks after Croatia’s 3-1 victory over Ireland on Sunday. But the culture ministry, where Miksa works as a clerk, was not amused and said the young woman could be sanctioned for breaking the code of conduct of public employees.

“We have to react as a public sector employee should behave in line with the code,” said ministry spokeswoman Natasa Petrinjak who added that an ethical committee would discuss the issue later Wednesday or on Thursday to decide on what action to take.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 14^th, 2012.