The match against Poland tonight has taken on a greater importance following the draw in Austria and the Swede has been preparing his side accordingly.

Eriksson has been going through the usual pre-match preparation, but has included some extra defensive detail in a bid to cut out the mistakes which has been costing England recently.

But he also took time, along with many of the players, to pay his respects at the concentration camp of Auschwitz which is located nearby this morning.

While clearly a moving experience for all concerned, the trip has helped the squad get a sense of purpose before they play their second World Cup qualifier.

Eriksson said: "It was an experience and I have never been there before. I was very happy that a lot of players asked me yesterday whether they could go.

"There were a lot of players together with the coaches and the staff who went there and it was an experience I will always remember.

"The team spirit is as strong now as it was in Euro 2004. The group is very strong and solid and full of confidence."

England have been most unfortunate of late having lost leads to either lose or draw in three of the last five games.

It proved costly at Euro 2004 and robbed England of three points against Austria on Saturday, but Eriksson is refusing to panic.

The Swede has been studying intensely the cause of all the problems in the 2-2 draw against Austria and is hopeful it will be a thing of the past from now on.

He added: "It's a worry if we keep losing goals when leading. I have never had a team which was perfect over 90 minutes - I doubt you can find it. Football is about trying to do as few mistakes as possible.

"I can't attack a player if he makes a mistake, you have to try and improve in practice, videos and discussions. We are not perfect but we will do less mistakes.

"I don't think they become nervous when they go in front. Against Austria we just stopped taking the positions, we lost the ball and gave them the chance to make counter-attacks.

"They scored twice when we made football complicated. Possibly at 2-0 they thought it was too easy and they stopped the simple things."

Poland beat England in Chorzow 31 years ago in a World Cup qualifier that eventually prevented us from playing at the 1974 World Cup in West Germany, but Eriksson believes there won't be a repeat.

He said: "I am quite sure we will play in the World Cup in Germany. Poland are a good team but I am positive we will qualify."

Click on the links below to watch a video of the full press conference with Sven-Goran Eriksson.

08 September 2004  
Sven-Goran Eriksson press conference