Sven Eriksson England Quotations

I have spoken with the players concerned today and I have been very pleased with their reaction and am confident my relationship with them has not been damaged in any way. I would like to assure everyone, especially the fans, that I'm 100 percent committed to the England job.

I had hoped to avoid Sweden. Here in England everyone is counting on a win, despite not having won against Sweden since 1968.

I expect a lot of long balls to James Quinn. They have a very busy midfield so I expect a difficult game. When we're talking about Wales, about Northern Ireland, it's a dream for those countries to beat England and we have to deal with that.

For Wales and Northern Ireland, it's a dream to beat England and we have to deal with that. It's like a derby and, remember Wales, it wasn't easy there.

If we were not in the play-offs, I would not have been here. That is for sure. But if I leave the job, it will be on the England results and not what the press says.

He is still an important part of this England squad.

I thought England would be in Group A but Poland came up, so for England it was good. Going to Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and Armenia is a long way.

I think England should be happy, there are groups much more difficult than England's. The man after me will be happy with this draw. It's very interesting and very good.

Michael is a fantastic striker and very important for his club and for England. I hope he returns to fitness as soon as possible, and I will follow his progress closely.

We are meeting one of the best teams in the world. It's important for our confidence that we do well in this game and important for the England fans as well. If they see we can play good football against Argentina it gives us more hope for next summer.

Well, he's one of those knocking on the door. He's doing better and better. I saw him twice and went to see him again. He's knocking on the door. He's young, if he's not going to the World Cup, I'm sure he will play for England one day.

Did I ever doubt that Beckham should carry on as England captain in the future? No way. I have never doubted that. Of course, I appreciate his apology. I haven't read it exactly, as I was with the team. But that's very good.

As long as it makes Michael Owen happy then it is good news for England. Newcastle is a great club and he will get to play a lot.

As long as it makes Michael Owen happy it is good for me and England. It is a great club and he will play more regularly than he did at Real Madrid and he is happy.

I'm very excited because the big aim for us since two years ago has been to qualify for the World Cup and there were a lot of discussions about England not going, especially after the Northern Ireland game. Now the big aim is to prepare everything in detail for the World Cup. I should like to thank all the players who have been involved and all the fans who have supported us, they've been fantastic.

I know for sure he wants to come back to England. If it's a London club he will come tomorrow. And it's up to me to convince him that Birmingham is the right place to be.

I really hope, fingers crossed, there will be no injuries, because I always said England will have a great World Cup if all the players are fit.