After the match Eriksson said: "It was good to see some new players on the pitch - that was the only thing we learned from this game.''

The England coach was pleased with the contribution of Jermain Defoe and Alan Thompson - but was giving little away about how prominent they will be in Euro 2004.

He said: "Jermain Defoe is a big talent - I knew it before tonight - and in the future he will be physically strong.

"But he knows where the goal is and I like him. Congratulations to him, he did very well.

"Alan Thompson's left foot is very good - he is an interesting player as well.

"They are in my thoughts [for Euro 2004] - but we missed a lot of players today - we'll see what happens at the end of season.''

The Swede revealed he did not think it would have been right to play John Terry and Jonathan Woodgate for the full 90 minutes in Gothenburg last night.

He added: "I think they are very good and will be in the squad - and they did very well in the first half.

"But I wanted to rest them because we needed them in Portugal.

"To play them for more than 45 minutes tonight would not have been right.''