Terry Calls for Urgent Tempo to Hurry Opposition Into Mistakes

John Terry will gather his England team-mates together before tonight's crucial match at Wembley and stress that only a repeat of the breathless tempo and furious commitment which saw them overwhelm Israel at the weekend will suffice. Qualification still hangs in the balance, but the hosts come laced with urgency.

The captain's message was blunt yesterday. "When you're playing a very good side and give them time to play, there are so many world-class players in their team who will find a pass or create something out of nothing," he said. "But if you get amongst them, in their faces, and put them under pressure then they'll make mistakes. We didn't let Israel play at all and it rushed them into decisions they wouldn't otherwise have chosen. If we can do that against Russia, who are technically very good on the ball, it will stop them playing."

There is nothing particularly sophisticated about such an approach, but England are clearly conscious that Guus Hiddink's side will be far more imposing opponents than the sloppy Israelis. "We talked about starting quickly before the Israel game," confirmed the coach Steve McClaren. "We said we might not win the game in the first 20 minutes, but that's actually what happened. Sometimes you can break the resistance early, and we did that with the tempo we had. It's an important part of the style that England play."

Such energy will be needed. Consistent excellence, particularly in back-to-back games, has proved elusive too often for the national side. It has effectively been three years, when Switzerland and Croatia were dismissed at Euro 2004, since an England side excelled twice within a week, though such is their predicament in Group E, they must summon a repeat now.

Against Israel the hosts' full-backs, Micah Richards and Ashley Cole, combined exhilaratingly with the wingers Shaun Wright-Phillips and Joe Cole, thrusting the visitors back. Michael Owen and Emile Heskey harried when possession had been surrendered, while the interchanging Steven Gerrard and Gareth Barry bustled in midfield. They may have been confronted by a quintet of opponents in the center but, even when they were outnumbered, England allowed Israel no time to settle.

Russia, with more quality on offer, will need to be unsettled in similar fashion which might go some way to explain why Heskey, unused for 39 months before the Israel game, has retained his place. If England are looking to explode early, he could prove more effective at first than Peter Crouch, despite the latter's impressive goalscoring record at this level.

"We put them right on the back foot and didn't give them any time to play at all on Saturday, and that has to be the game plan again," said Terry. "It worked so well. Even when we were scoring goals, we still chased them down to win that ball back and get at them again. Russia are a very good side, very quick going forward and strong on the counter-attack, and it's going to be tough. But vital games seem to bring the best out of us. If we'd not won at the weekend it would have been disastrous, but we did. Now we have to do so again.

"In some ways, I think it's helped that this game has come up so quickly. We've not had a week to sit around and be tempted to think: 'Oh, we're such a good side.' No one in the squad has been thinking that. We realize that we have to put together this level of performance and consistency over the next four games in the group. We've got one out of the way, but there are another four to go."

England would edge two points clear of Hiddink's side should they win tonight, a vital gap given that a tricky trip to Moscow awaits next month before Croatia, the group winners elect, arrive at Wembley in November.