28 May 2005
Sven-Goran Eriksson: Post-Match Exclusive

The England Head Coach speaks to TheFA.com after seeing his side beat the USA 2-1 in Chicago.


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Sven-Goran Eriksson spoke to TheFA.com after seeing his side beat the USA 2-1 in Chicago.

Sven fielded a new-look team and handed Kieran Richardson a debut and a full debut to both Andy Johnson and Michael Carrick.

"[It was] very good, a very young team and coming here and beating the United States is very good," Sven told TheFA.com

"I think we deserved to win and Kieran Richardson scoring two goals on his debut - fantastic."

Richardson's performance was probably the highlight of the match as he became one of the fastest-ever England debutants to score a goal when he curled home a delightful free-kick after just four minutes.

"Normally we expect a young boy coming in to be a little bit nervous, a little bit shy but showed nothing of that," Sven said. "When he took the free-kick and scored it shows he is mentally very strong."

Zat Knight and Luke Young also made their bows at this level when they came on as substitutes and Sven was pleased with the way the match enabled him to have a look at some new players.

"It is very good to use friendly games [for a] young team with very little experience of international football," he said.

"You can see they are hungry and want to play, they want to show they are ready and it's perfect for the future. It is good for everyone - for me, for the fans - to see these young players."

The first half saw a very fluid performance from England which, bearing in mind the number of changes made to the team, may have surprised some observers but not Sven.

Many of the side have played together at Under-21 level in the past couple of years and, before that, for various England youth sides.

"They know each other, they are friends and of course it is important that they come [through] from the Under-17s, Under-19s, Under-20s and Under-21s and that is what The FA is working for."

Richardson, Ashley Cole and captain Sol Campbell all came off the field with injuries and with England playing against Colombia in New Jersey on Tuesday, Sven is hopeful they can recover in time.

"I'm not sure but I think Ashley might be available, they other two I am not sure."

The unlucky Peter Crouch, who was set to made his England debut against the US, is also trying to get fit in time to face the South Americans.

Sven continued: "We took a scan and they said it was not that bad but we have to wait and see if he can train on Monday."

The atmosphere inside Soldier Field was wonderful, with thousands of England fans making the stadium their own - something Sven couldn't help but be impressed by. 

"The England fans are always amazing, always surprising me," he said. "We are playing a friendly game in the United States and it's like we are playing at home."