Copy linkFacebookXPinterestEmailShare this article 0Join the conversationFollow usAdd us as a preferred source on GoogleNewsletterSubscribe to our newsletterJoe Cole was at the centre of Englands hopes during the 2006 World Cup.The playmaker went to the tournament with a freshly minted Premier League winners medal after he helped Chelsea seal their second consecutive league title, with Cole earning a place in the PFA Team of the Year.Boss Sven-Goran Eriksson selected Cole for every match in Germany, with a spectacular goal against Sweden being the midfielders personal high-point before Englands tournament ended in a familiar fashion when they crashed out to Portugal on penalties in the quarter-finals.Joe Cole on Englands World Cup 2006 campaignThe 2006 World Cup was when I played most, Cole tells FourFourTwo when asked which was his favourite international tournament as a player. "I played every game, scored a really good goal [against Sweden] and I loved it.Theyre all good memories, but moments changed games at important times. If we could have come through those moments or won a penalty shootout, we could have gone even further. The sliding doors didnt go for us. A different pass here, a better refereeing decision there. You may like Theres going to be a moment where England are under the cosh to win the World Cup, someone is going to have to take the game by the scruff of the neck Joe Cole on what England need to do to win the World Cup The 2002 World Cup was the first time I was around big names. It made me understand I was capable of playing with top players and at major tournaments Ashley Cole on Englands 2002 rollercoaster tournament In this World Cup, everything needs to work. If the big man upstairs says its Englands time, then its Englands time Joe Cole on reflects on his 2010 Three Lions experience Cole was again named in the starting XI for the quarter-final against Portugal, but was sacrificed following Wayne Rooneys red card shortly after the hour mark.Yeah, it was frustrating, he admits. I was probably playing at my peak around that time of my career. I was feeling really good in that game, playing against Miguel, the right-back, thinking, Im just getting the better of him here.Get FourFourTwo NewsletterThe best features, fun and footballing quizzes, straight to your inbox every week.Contact me with news and offers from other Future brandsReceive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsorsBy submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.We were coming into it, then the sending-off happened, and when youre the type of player I was, I knew that substitution was coming, because we needed to consolidate.I just thought, Please get us through, dont let this be the end. The boys did unbelievably well to keep it at 0-0, but it wasnt meant to be.Cole was also a part of Erikssons 2002 squad, another tournament in which the Three Lions of that era were unable to get past the same quarter-final ceiling. What to read next Fabio Capello stopped us from going swimming with sharks. I was fuming! Joe Cole on the England squads boredom at the 2010 World Cup Missing in the Euro 2012 shootout killed me. Id scored in the Champions League final shootout just a few weeks earlier Ashley Cole on his part in Englands 2012 penalty misery Back then, the media needed to be fed with pictures of the girls going for a run or something like that, and it was going on the front page Joe Cole looks back on how the press created the 2006 WAG culture I only came off the bench once in that tournament, but I remember us going 1-0 up against Brazil, he recalls. Michael Owen ended up with a hamstring injury and I thought that might have been the time to take him off and get some more legs in midfield because of the heat.We werent having a lot of domination and Michael had done his job, hed put the ball in the net. I think if he had the time again, maybe Sven would have done that.But it was a great Brazil team we lost to one of the all-time great teams.Could It Be Coming Home? with Joe Cole and Ashley Cole is brought to you by Carling, official sponsor of the Emirates FA Cup and Adobe Womens FA Cup. Watch the show on YouTube and Spotify, or listen to it wherever you get your podcastsTOPICSEnglandWorld CupJoe MewisSocial Links NavigationFor more than a decade, Joe Mewis has worked in football journalism as a reporter and editor. Mewis has had stints at Mirror Football and LeedsLive among others and worked at FourFourTwo throughout Euro 2024, reporting on the tournament. In addition to his journalist work, Mewis is also the author of four football history books that include times on Leeds United and the England national team. Now working as a digital marketing coordinator at Harrogate Town, too, Mewis counts some of his best career moments as being in the iconic Spygate press conference under Marcelo Bielsa and seeing his beloved Leeds lift the Championship trophy during lockdown.With contributions fromChris FlanaganSenior Staff Writer
