Sven-Goran Eriksson's biggest regret as England manager amid cancer diagnosis

11 January 2024 , 08:13

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Sven-Goran Eriksson failed to lead England to tournament glory

Sven-Goran Eriksson admits failing to employ a mentality-focused coach for the 2006 World Cup is his greatest England regret.

The Swede was taking charge of the Three Lions for the final time at that tournament, having announced he would leave following the World Cup. It was his third and final attempt at ending England's wait for silverware but, like he had the two times previous times, saw his hopes ended in the quarter-finals.

Portugal beat England on penalties for the second successive tournament as Eriksson's side struggled to deal with the weight of expectation. Plenty were tipping the Three Lions for glory as Germany hosted the tournament, but failing to address the psychological aspect of the game lingers with Eriksson.

He previously told The Times : "My biggest regret is not taking a mental coach [to Germany] but I was very confident and convinced [England would win]. I remember Roberto Mancini phoned me, he said, ‘Sven, I’m putting my money on England’ and I told him, ‘You are right."

England topped a group that included Sweden, Paraguay and Trinidad & Tobago before beating Ecuador in the last 16. With stars like Wayne Rooney, Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard and John Terry in their squad many felt the Three Lions had their best chance to go all the way since 1966.

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Eriksson still believes the team he presided over were the best team and the tournament, nearly two decades after their last eight exit. He concedes though that there was too much coverage over the so called 'Golden Generation' with penalties, once again, the team's downfall.

“I couldn’t - still can’t - see any team better than England in that World Cup,” he added. “We were unlucky with Rooney [being sent off against Portugal] but in my time the pressure was too high. The expectation when you went to those tournaments - you win and if you don’t win it’s sh*t.

The Swede has regrets over the 2006 World Cup

"And too much talk about the Golden Generation. They were good but other teams had good players too. That, and penalties, was England’s problem."

Eriksson has held numerous jobs since leaving England but has confirmed a diagnosis of terminal cancer, which could leave him with less than a year to live. He told a Swedish radio station : "It is not good. Everyone guessed it's cancer and it is. But I have to fight as long as I can. But you can trick your brain."

Samuel Meade