Lawrie Sanchez believes England can still qualify for the World Cup Finals despite losing to his Northern Ireland side in Belfast.

Northern Ireland manager Sanchez is still celebrating a famous victory following his team's shock 1-0 triumph against the Three Lions.

But far from gloating over the scoreline he has offered England Head Coach Sven-Goran Eriksson some words of comfort.

He said: "England are a magnificent team. They will qualify for the World Cup, and they will be one of the teams who can bring the trophy home.

"This is a hiccup for them, but a magnificent performance from us.

"We stopped them playing. There were ifs and buts, but in the end we had as many chances as them."

Sanchez believes a strong self-belief was what carried Northern Ireland through to a famous win.

He said: "It's amazing what you can do if you believe in yourselves. I was brought in 18 months ago to create shocks. I promised on my CV that I can create shocks and this one's up there.

"I'm the manager but the players deserve credit. The staff and I can only give direction and a game plan. The players have achieved immortality in Northern Irish folklore. You live for these moments."