After seeing his side beat Liechtenstein 2-0 at Old Trafford, England coach Sven
After seeing his side beat Liechtenstein 2-0 at Old Trafford, England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson pronounced himself happy with the result...
Before the game, much discussion revolved around the players in the England camp who were a booking away from a one match suspension.
Eriksson admitted that playing captain David Beckham as well as Steven Gerrard was a calclated risk. He also explained why it was those two played whereas Arsenal's Sol Campbell was left on the bench.
"If you are central defender it's much more difficult I think - that's why Sol Campbell didn't play. There you have to tackle.
"It's always a risk but we had to win the game. Liechtenstein seems easy - but you never know in football.
"They defended with 10 or 11 all the time and it was difficult to get the first goal but I had decided to take them off before the game if we went 2-0 up."
England fielded an attack-minded line-up, with Everton's Wayne Rooney joining James Beattie and Michael Owen as England looked to get the goals which would secure them three more valuable points.
For Rooney, it was another special night as he followed his goal in Macedonia on Saturday with another well-taken strike tonight.
After the match, Eriksson was only too happy to heap praise on the 17-year-old's broad shoulders: "He is a very good footballer - and he can become better with age.
"He's scored two goals in two games now, so he's started his international career in a very good way."
Attention will now start to turn towards England's critical final qualifying match, away to Turkey: "It is an interesting game - but we have a month to prepare and think about it," the England coach said.
"Of course it will decide who will win the group and who will play off.
"We want to play how we normally play - I don't think England can go to try and get a draw.
"The most important thing is not to get any injuries - but you can't do anything about it.
"There are a lot of games before then."