Post by cjwood on Dec 10, 2005 14:20:20 GMT
Sven delighted to steer clear of Dutch and Aussies
First Published: Dec 09, 2005
Sven-Goran Eriksson, seen here at the World Cup draw in Leipzig, will renew his rivalry with his home country after England were drawn to face Sweden in Group B at next summer's World Cup finals
Sven-Goran Eriksson breathed a huge sigh of relief after the World Cup draw handed England a relatively easy first round group and spared his squad the prospect of facing either the Netherlands or traditional sporting adversaries Australia.
"It is not an easy group but it could have been much worse," England's Swedish coach said after his squad were drawn in a group with Paraguay, Trinidad and Tobago and Eriksson's native country, Sweden.
"We asked to avoid Holland and Australia and we did that," Eriksson told the BBC.
"Of course we have to play Sweden, whom we have not beaten for a very long time -- that seems to be our destiny. But that is life, sooner or later we have to beat them.
"At least on paper we are the favourites with Sweden but you never know in the World Cup."
The draw means England, presuming they finish in the top two in their group, are likely to face either Germany or Poland in the second round.
Eriksson was confident England could win the group and avoid a last-16 clash with Germany.
"I think Germany will win their group, I think they are in an easy group for the host nation," he said. "For sure it is better to play Poland than Germany in the second round."
The draw means it is possible England could face Brazil in the final but Eriksson did not want to speculate on that sort of outcome.
"I would take that at once to play Brazil in the final but the way is long and it is not right to talk about the final. Now we have to prepare for our group matches.
"We have difficult games but I am happy with the group. It could have been worse, much worse."
One of Eriksson's predecessors, Graham Taylor, hailed the draw as the best England could possibly have hoped for.
"On paper you can't ask for much better than that," he said. "The England players will come out and say all the same things about every game being a hard one but if we look at it realistically we could not have asked for better."
The clash with Trinidad and Tobago will see Eriksson's men face a squad in which nearly half the players currently earn their living in England, mostly outside the Premiership.
Trinidad and Tobago defender Dennis Lawrence, who plays for League Two side Wrexham (the fourth tier of English football), voiced his delight at the draw.
"I can imagine how the fans are feeling because I am so excited about it myself," he said. "It was brilliant looking at our name come out in the same group as England."
Port Vale midfielder Chris Birchall, another Trinidad and Tobago star, claimed the prospect of playing England in the World Cup finals was like "living a dream".
He said: "People were saying 'It's fate, you're going to get England'. When it happened I was just running around, cheering in the bar. It hasn't sunk in.
"I will be lining up against players who I have been watching week in, week out in the Premiership.
"I don't think anyone knew about us before... but we have caused a few upsets. People are taking us seriously."
First Published: Dec 09, 2005
Sven-Goran Eriksson, seen here at the World Cup draw in Leipzig, will renew his rivalry with his home country after England were drawn to face Sweden in Group B at next summer's World Cup finals
Sven-Goran Eriksson breathed a huge sigh of relief after the World Cup draw handed England a relatively easy first round group and spared his squad the prospect of facing either the Netherlands or traditional sporting adversaries Australia.
"It is not an easy group but it could have been much worse," England's Swedish coach said after his squad were drawn in a group with Paraguay, Trinidad and Tobago and Eriksson's native country, Sweden.
"We asked to avoid Holland and Australia and we did that," Eriksson told the BBC.
"Of course we have to play Sweden, whom we have not beaten for a very long time -- that seems to be our destiny. But that is life, sooner or later we have to beat them.
"At least on paper we are the favourites with Sweden but you never know in the World Cup."
The draw means England, presuming they finish in the top two in their group, are likely to face either Germany or Poland in the second round.
Eriksson was confident England could win the group and avoid a last-16 clash with Germany.
"I think Germany will win their group, I think they are in an easy group for the host nation," he said. "For sure it is better to play Poland than Germany in the second round."
The draw means it is possible England could face Brazil in the final but Eriksson did not want to speculate on that sort of outcome.
"I would take that at once to play Brazil in the final but the way is long and it is not right to talk about the final. Now we have to prepare for our group matches.
"We have difficult games but I am happy with the group. It could have been worse, much worse."
One of Eriksson's predecessors, Graham Taylor, hailed the draw as the best England could possibly have hoped for.
"On paper you can't ask for much better than that," he said. "The England players will come out and say all the same things about every game being a hard one but if we look at it realistically we could not have asked for better."
The clash with Trinidad and Tobago will see Eriksson's men face a squad in which nearly half the players currently earn their living in England, mostly outside the Premiership.
Trinidad and Tobago defender Dennis Lawrence, who plays for League Two side Wrexham (the fourth tier of English football), voiced his delight at the draw.
"I can imagine how the fans are feeling because I am so excited about it myself," he said. "It was brilliant looking at our name come out in the same group as England."
Port Vale midfielder Chris Birchall, another Trinidad and Tobago star, claimed the prospect of playing England in the World Cup finals was like "living a dream".
He said: "People were saying 'It's fate, you're going to get England'. When it happened I was just running around, cheering in the bar. It hasn't sunk in.
"I will be lining up against players who I have been watching week in, week out in the Premiership.
"I don't think anyone knew about us before... but we have caused a few upsets. People are taking us seriously."
