Henchoz wary of Owen threat

Switzerland defender Stephane Henchoz admits there is little anyone can do to stop Michael Owen when he is at his blistering best.

The Liverpool defender could be a key figure in his side’s planning for Thursday night’s Group B clash between his country and England in Coimbra after yesterday’s 0-0 draw with Croatia.

Henchoz’s team-mates fought tooth and nail to clinch their point after midfielder Johann Vogel was sent off just five minutes after half-time, but he knows that they will not get away with that sort of error if Owen is on song as his side attempt to bounce back from the bitter disappointment of late defeat by France.

The 29-year-old has watched admiringly as Owen has terrorised Premiership defences and admits that, for all he can tell the Swiss camp about England’s leading marksman, sometimes he is just too hot to handle.

“Maybe I know a bit more than my team-mates about the England players because I play against them in the Premier League, so I can maybe give them a few tips, but I don’t think that will change too much,” he said.

“When you’re on the pitch, it’s good to know how a player will play, but sometimes if he’s quicker than you, he’s quicker than you and you can’t catch him no matter what you know about him before the game.

“Michael’s the type of player who can score in big games and he’s so good in front of goal when he’s in a position to score that he doesn’t need too many opportunities.

“One or two and it’s in the back of the net, and that’s why he’s such a danger to any team he’s playing against.”

Henchoz, who came on as a late substitute in the Croatia game, will be among familiar faces if he gets a chance again on Thursday with team-mate Steven Gerrard also lining up on the opposite side.

Gerrard’s club form last season was at times breathtaking, and the Swiss international knows too how important he is to his country despite the error which handed Zinedine Zidane the chance to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat with an injury-time penalty in Lisbon last night.

“I think he’s had probably his best season,” he said. “He was very consistent, probably the most consistent player we had.

“He’s a great player. He can do everything – he can score and make players score, but also when we don’t have the ball, you know he works very hard to get it back.

“He wants the ball all the time, he can use it and he also protects you as a defender. That why I say he can do everything.”

Croatia coach Otto Baric faces the task of lifting his troops for their clash with the French at the Estadio Dr Magalhaes Pessoa in Leiria where they failed to take advantage of Vogel’s dismissal, and after admitting they had suffered in the heat yesterday afternoon, will be happy with the 7.45pm kick-off time.

However, he had few complaints about the performance and promised that their efforts would be redoubled in the hunt for qualification, a quest which was done little harm by England’s defeat.

“We’re going straight forward,” he said. “We know who our opponents are and we won’t surrender.

“Nothing will change for the France game. Even if we had won against Switzerland, we would have played in the same way.

“We have to try to win to get the points and we’d rather do that now than leave it to the third match.

“But I have to underline that the other teams in the group also have to win to get the points.”