I will be there: Eriksson

Sven-Goran Eriksson is adamant he will still be in charge of England at the World Cup next summer and will not be forced out of his job by his growing legion of critics.
Despite overseeing England’s qualification for Germany, the Swede has come under regular fire for what many see as his cautious tactics in a side brimming with widely-respected attacking talents.

Asked if he would ever win over all the sceptics, Eriksson admitted: “Some of them maybe not. Some of them think I should resign tomorrow.

“But we have won our group and we have a good team, the best since I came to this country. I should be an extremely bad manager and a bad professional if I resigned tomorrow.

“I have absolutely no intention of doing that whatsoever. But I don’t know if those critics reflect the England fans as I’ve never met one of them (who said the same), that’s for sure.”

Apart from the pundits, Eriksson’s critics tend to make their voices heard on radio phone-ins and in newspaper polls, and their attacks are likely to increase if England fail to reach the World Cup final.

At the last finals in Asia in 2002, England fell to eventual champions Brazil in the quarter-finals.

“Of course our ambition is to reach the final, there are no doubts about that,” said Eriksson.

“Would it be a failure if we didn’t? If we didn’t play good football against all the teams at the World Cup, I would think it’s a failure. Then you have to look at each game and how you lose it.”

Eriksson believes England deserve to be seeded in December’s group draw, observing: “I would be disappointed not to be seeded but anyhow I would accept it.”

However, he has already identified the two most likely dangers to his side next summer, and they do not include Argentina, Italy, Holland, Spain or France.

“Brazil, with the quality they have, especially in midfield and up front, are very good,” he declared.

“Then it’s to see if they can defend as well as they attack. I don’t know but when I saw them win the Confederations Cup last summer, they played very good football.

“Then there is Germany. The mentality of the Germans is such that, in 90 or 95% of all tournaments, they do very well.

“Sometimes they don’t have the best team or not even the second or third best team, but normally they reach the semi-finals or final. Now they will be playing at home.”

Hot this week

CARDIEUX Shocks Shoppers with a Never-Before-Seen 95% Off Luxury Jewelry Code

What started as a rumor is now confirmedโ€”CARDIEUXโ€™s 95%...

Fexco Launches Cross-Industry Payment Orchestration Platform Building on Cruise Market Dominance

Fexco, the Irish-based financial services and fintech company, has...

Former Israeli Pilot Calls for Accountability Over Gaza Strikes

Yonatan Shapira, a former Israeli Air Force (IAF) rescue...

Israel’s Biblical Justification for Gaza Siege Draws Accusations of Religious Extremism

A recent ruling by Israelโ€™s Supreme Court has triggered...

CleanSpace Appoints Robert Griffith as Chief Strategy Officer to Lead Turnkey Expansion and Launch of CleanShield Division

CleanSpace, the nationโ€™s leading fully integrated modular cleanroom design-build...

Topics

CARDIEUX Shocks Shoppers with a Never-Before-Seen 95% Off Luxury Jewelry Code

What started as a rumor is now confirmedโ€”CARDIEUXโ€™s 95%...

Fexco Launches Cross-Industry Payment Orchestration Platform Building on Cruise Market Dominance

Fexco, the Irish-based financial services and fintech company, has...

Former Israeli Pilot Calls for Accountability Over Gaza Strikes

Yonatan Shapira, a former Israeli Air Force (IAF) rescue...

Israel’s Biblical Justification for Gaza Siege Draws Accusations of Religious Extremism

A recent ruling by Israelโ€™s Supreme Court has triggered...

CleanSpace Appoints Robert Griffith as Chief Strategy Officer to Lead Turnkey Expansion and Launch of CleanShield Division

CleanSpace, the nationโ€™s leading fully integrated modular cleanroom design-build...

The Grange Institution features in UNESCO World Engineering Day 2025 campaign

The Grange Institution, as a leader in the education...

TT-Line is official partner for UNESCO World Engineering Day 2025 campaign

TT-Line, as a leading shipping company in the field...

Related Articles

Popular Categories

spot_imgspot_img