喬科爾堅持，隨隊出征的太太和女友團決不會分散英格蘭隊奪冠士氣。
鏈結 http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=372674&cc=4716
Joe Cole has insisted the presence of wives and girlfriends in Germany has not been a distraction to England's hopes of World Cup glory.
Sven-Goran Eriksson has allowed his players to join up with their families at their hotel base in Baden-Baden on rare days off, normally the day after a game.
Several pundits, including former Celtic boss Martin O'Neill, have indicated they would not allow the same freedom and relaxation if in charge of the national squad.
But Cole believes it has been a beneficial move for the squad in switching off from football for a few hours during a period of up to five weeks away from home.
The Chelsea midfielder said: 'It's a long time to be away from home and to be stuck away in a hotel. For most of our lives, we are stuck in hotels.
'To give us a little break when we can go and see the family - just to talk about things you can't talk about with the other lads like who is looking after the dogs - is great. It's just normal things.
'It just gets your mind off it (the football). That's very important. Anyone who thinks it's a distraction is mad because when we are playing three games a week at home, you don't go and lock yourself away in a hotel room.
'You need to get a bit of normality. It's nice to see them enjoying it as well. It's good for me to see my girlfriend, my mum and dad and friends being really excited and enjoying it. I'm happy then that I've been able to give them that.'
Cole is aware England will have to beat at their best now the tournament is approaching its climax but insists results remain the priority ahead of Saturday's quarter-final clash with Portugal.
He said: 'Of course, we are going to have to play very well to beat those teams ahead of us but we still haven't conceded a goal from open play and we are defending well as a team.
'We are in the quarter-finals of the World Cup. We are not jumping or singing from the rooftops. We are still mentally very focused and ready.
'We are not in the clouds playing wonder football. We are focused and we know there are still things to improve on but we have been getting better and better each game.
'Results is what it is all about. If we had played brilliantly against Ecuador at the weekend but were going to have to pack our bags and go home, we would have been gutted.
'We played well, we showed good fitness, we paced ourselves better throughout the game and got the job done.'
作者-佟杉杉
責編：佟杉杉