His effect on the team was immediate as Sven won his first five matches in charge before he steered England to a 5-1 win over Germany in Munich in September 2001.

At the 2002 World Cup, England defeated Argentina before their campaign was ended at the quarter-final stage by eventual champions Brazil.

England again finished top of their qualifying group to book their place at the European Championships held in Portugal.

Having lost to France in their opening match, the Three Lions rallied with wins over Switzerland and Croatia only to get knocked out of the tournament in the quarters on penalties after a 2-2 draw with the hosts.

England's final tournament under Sven was the 2006 World Cup. Having won their group, England beat Ecuador in the Second Round before eventual defeat in the quarter-finals, again on penalties at the hands of Portugal.

Having taken charge of England on 67 occasions, Sven is the third longest serving England manager in history behind Sir Alf Ramsey and Sir Bobby Robson.

Though Sir Walter Winterbottom was manager for 16 years (1946-62) and 139 matches, Ramsey was the first with sole control over the team.

Record with England

 

P

W

D

L

F

A

Total matches

67

40

17

10

128

61

All Competitive

38

26

9

3

69

26

All Friendlies

29

14

8

7

59

35

             

Total Home

30

20

6

4

68

25

All Home Competitive

12

10

2

0

25

7

All Home Friendlies

18

10

4

4

43

18

             

Total Away*

21

11

6

4

32

21

All Away Competitive

12

9

2

1

22

8

All Away Friendlies

9

2

4

3

10

13


*excludes World Cup Finals matches, European Championship Finals matches and England v Colombia (May 05) and Argentina (Nov 05) (played at neutral venues).

Sven's matches with England, 2001-06

1. England 3-0 Spain, 28 February 2001, Friendly
Sven immediately freshened up the England squad, handing first caps to Chris Powell, Michael Ball and Gavin McCann. Goals from Nick Barmby, Emile Heskey and Ugo Ehiogu seal victory. Goalkeeper Nigel Martyn saves Javi Moreno's penalty.

2. England 2-1 Finland, 24 March 2001, World Cup Qualifier
Sven wins his first competitive match with England. After Gary Neville's own goal gave the Finns the lead, Michael Owen equalised and skipper David Beckham scored the winner.

3. Albania 1-3 England, 28 March 2001, World Cup Qualifier
Michael Owen gets the breakthrough after 73 minutes, Paul Scholes adds a second and, even though Albania pull a goal back, Andy Cole extends England's lead in stoppage time with his first senior international goal.

4. England 4-0 Mexico, 25 May 2001, Friendly
Four out of four for Sven as Beckham and Teddy Sheringham score with free-kicks, while Scholes and Robbie Fowler also find the target at Pride Park.

5. Greece 0-2 England, 06 June 2001, World Cup Qualifier
England had to be patient in Athens, but eventually Scholes broke the deadlock just after the hour mark and Beckham scored his third goal in four internationals just before the end. One of the most impressive early performances under Sven.

6. England 0-2 Netherlands, 15 August 2001, Friendly
Sven's first defeat in charge of England, as an excellent Dutch side triumph in North London. Mark van Bommel and Ruud van Nistelrooy score within a minute of each other at the end of the first half.

7. Germany 1-5 England, 01 September 2001, World Cup Qualifier
The match for which Sven may well be remembered as England produce a stunning comeback after Carsten Jancker put Germany ahead after six minutes. That only sparked England into action as Owen hit a hat-trick, with Heskey and Steven Gerrard also scoring on a famous night in Munich.

8. England 2-0 Albania, 05 September 2001, World Cup Qualifier
Owen struck at the end of the first half at St James' Park for his sixth goal under Eriksson. Fowler finished with a delightful chip to put England just one win away from Japan and Korea.

9. England 2-2 Greece, 06 October 2001, World Cup Qualifier
Beckham secured England's World Cup passage with a real captain's performance, dragging his side almost single-handedly to a draw secured with his own injury time equaliser at Old Trafford. England twice fell behind, with substitute Teddy Sheringham scoring the first equaliser with his first touch.

10. England 1-1 Sweden, 10 November 2001, Friendly
Beckham was on target from the penalty spot as England began their World Cup preparation at his home ground, but Sweden equalised before half-time through Hakan Mild.

11. Holland 1-1 England, 13 February 2002, Friendly
Darius Vassell volleyed home a spectacular equaliser on his full England debut after an hour to cancel out Patrick Kluivert's opener.

12. England 1-2 Italy, 27 March 2002, Friendly
Robbie Fowler gave England the lead but Vincenzo Montella scored on 67 and 90 minutes to win the game for the visitors.

13. England 4-0 Paraguay, 17 April 2002, Friendly
A good pre-World Cup warm-up for England as Owen, Danny Murphy and Vassell were on target before a Celso Ayala own goal completed the scoring at Anfield.

14. South Korea 1-1 England, 21 May 2002, Friendly
Sven gave plenty of squad players a chance to shine in Seogwipo. Owen opened with a smartly-taken first before Park Ji-Sung levelled for the World Cup joint-hosts.

15. Cameroon 2-2 England, 26 May 2002, Friendly
Samuel Eto'o put Cameroon ahead after only five minutes but Vassell finished off a quick move to equalise soon after. However, it took a last-minute Robbie Fowler goal to snatch a draw after Geremi put Cameroon back in front.

16. England 1-1 Sweden, 02 June 2002, World Cup Finals
Sol Campbell got England's World Cup campaign off to a flying start when he headed home from a corner midway through the first half in Saitama. Sweden equalised through Niclas Alexandersson.

17. Argentina 0-1 England, 07 June 2002, World Cup Finals
England won a vital match in Sapporo with Beckham scoring the only goal with a 44th-minute penalty won by Owen. A heroic second half rear-guard saw England home.

18. Nigeria 0-0 England, 12 June 2002, World Cup Finals
A rather quiet game with little of interest but England went through to the knock-out stages as group runners-up to Sweden, who defeated Argentina on the same day.

19. Denmark 0-3 England, 15 June 2002, World Cup Finals
England got off to a great start with two goals in the opening ten minutes. Rio Ferdinand's header was palmed into the goal by Thomas Sorensen for the opener before Owen doubled the advantage with a smart turn and finish. Heskey got a third just before the break with a spectacular finish.

20. England 1-2 Brazil, 21 June 2002, World Cup Finals
Again England got off to a perfect start against the tournament favourites when Owen latched on to a Heskey long ball but Rivaldo levelled just before the break and Ronaldinho won it when he lobbed England keeper David Seaman.

21. England 1-1 Portugal, 07 September 2002, Friendly
Alan Smith headed in the opening goal only for Costinha to score a late equaliser.

22. Slovakia 1-2 England, 12 October 2002, Euro 2004 Qualifier
Things were looking grim for England when Szilard Nemeth scored an opening goal in the first half. After the break, Owen was fouled for a penalty converted by Beckham before Owen headed in the winner with eight minutes to go.

23. England 2-2 FYR Macedonia, 16 October 2002, Euro 2004 Qualifier
Twice England fell behind but twice they came back. Artim Sakiri scored direct from a corner only for Beckham to quickly equalise. Then Vanco Trajanov got Macedonia's second but Gerrard`s strike eventually secured a point at Southampton. Smith was dismissed in the closing moments.

24. England 1-3 Australia, 12 February 2003, Friendly
Tony Popovic and Harry Kewell gave the Socceroos a shock 2-0 half-time lead against a first-choice England side at Upton Park. Francis Jeffers reduced the deficit in the second period, but Brett Emerton made sure of an Australian win when he netted five minutes from time. Wayne Rooney made his debut.

25. Liechtenstein 0-2 England, 29 March 2003, Euro 2004 Qualifier
A goal in either half from Owen and Beckham gave England victory on a cold night in Vaduz.

26. England 2-0 Turkey, 02 April 2003, Euro 2004 Qualifier
A Rooney inspired performance got England all three points at the Stadium of Light. Vassell made the breakthrough after Rio Ferdinand's shot was blocked and Beckham's spot-kick sealed the win in injury time.

27. South Africa 1-2 England, 22 May 2003, Friendly
Gareth Southgate put England ahead in the first minute. Benni McCarthy equalised from the penalty spot before Heskey got the winner.

28. England 2-1 Serbia and Montenegro, 03 June 2003, Friendly
Gerrard and Joe Cole netted either side of Nenad Jestrovic's goal for the visitors.

29. England 2-1 Slovakia, 11 June 2003, Euro 2004 Qualifier
Vladimir Janocko put the visitors ahead with a 30th-minute free-kick at the Riverside. Sven re-organised the team early and the effect was immediate - Owen scored twice after the break to secure victory.

30. England 3-1 Croatia, 20 August 2003, Friendly
Beckham scored a ninth-minute penalty at Portman Road before Owen made it 2-0. Ivica Mornar pulled one back with 13 minutes left but Frank Lampard's stunning effort made it 3-1.

31. FYR Macedonia 1-2 England, 06 September 2003, Euro 2004 Qualifier
Georgi Hristov put Macedonia ahead before Wayne Rooney became England's youngest ever goalscorer at the age of 17 years and 317 days during the second half. Beckham completed the job from the penalty spot after John Terry was fouled.

32. England 2-0 Liechtenstein, 10 September 2003, Euro 2004 Qualifier
Owen and Rooney both hit the net in the second half at Old Trafford to leave Eriksson's men needing just a point from the tough match away to Turkey to reach Euro 2004.

33. Turkey 0-0 England, 11 October 2003, Euro 2004 Qualifier
Another stand-out display from Sven's team could have seen the Three Lions win the game by a couple of goals. Beckham missed a first-half penalty and there were further chances in a stretched second half.

34. England 2-3 Denmark, 16 November 2003, Friendly
Rooney put England ahead, Martin Jorgensen equalised then Joe Cole put England back in front -all within nine minutes. Jorgensen levelled from the spot and, nine minutes from time, Jon Dahl Tomasson knocked in a winner.

35. Portugal 1-1 England, 18 February 2004, Friendly
In the perfect pre-Euro 2004 warm-up, Ledley King scored on his international debut, converting Beckham's free-kick at the far post. Pauleta curled a free-kick over the wall to secure a draw.

36. Sweden 1-0 England, 31 March 2004, Friendly
A second-half goal from Zlatan Ibrahimovic was enough to decide a low-key encounter in Gothenburg, where Steven Gerrard captained the side for the first time.

37. England 1-1 Japan, 01 June 2004, FA Summer Tournament
In the FA Summer Tournament opener, Owen's 25th goal in 55 internationals gave the Three Lions the lead but a goal from Shinji Ono earned Japan a 1-1 draw.

38. England 6-1 Iceland, 05 June 2004, FA Summer Tournament
Two goals from Rooney, the second asuperb strike, and others from Lampard, Vassell (2) and Wayne Bridge gave England a nice send-off as they headed out to Portugal for Euro 2004.

39. France 2-1 England, 13 June 2004, Euro 2004
Frank Lampard headed England into a first-half lead but, after Beckham saw a penalty saved, Zinedine Zidane scored a late double from a free-kick and a penalty.

40. England 3-0 Switzerland, 17 June 2004, Euro 2004
Owen's pass allowed Rooney to head England into a half-time lead before he scored a second which deflected off both the goalkeeper Jorg Stiel and the post. Gerrard's goal rounded off a comfortable win.

41. England 4-2 Croatia, 21 June 2004, Euro 2004
Croatia took an early lead through Niko Kovac but Scholes and then a double from Rooney put England in charge. Igor Tudor pulled a goal back and then Lampard made sure of the win 11 minutes from time.

42. England 2-2 Portugal (aet. 1-1 90 mins, 5-6 on pens.), 24 June 2004, Euro 2004
Owen gave England a 1-0 lead but after Rooney's departure with a broken foot, Portugal equalised and took the lead in extra-time only for Lampard's turn and low shot to send the game to penalties. Beckham and Vassell were the two England players to miss from the spot.

43. England 3-0 Ukraine, 18 August 2004, Friendly
Beckham scored the first and then set Owen up to make it 2-0. Shaun Wright-Phillips came on to make his debut and scored with a great twisting run after 72 minutes.

44. Austria 2-2 England, 04 September 2004, World Cup Qualifier
Lampard and Gerrard scored to put England in control of their opening World Cup qualifier in Vienna but Roland Kollmann`s free-kick gave the home side a lifeline before Andreas Ivanschitz equalised two minutes later.

45. Poland 1-2 England, 08 September 2004, World Cup Qualifier
England put their World Cup qualifying campaign back on track with a vital win away to a talented Polish side. Jermain Defoe and an own goal from Arkadiusz Glowacki gave Sven's side the three points.

46. England 2-0 Wales, 09 October 2004, World Cup Qualifier
Lampard's early strike calmed any nerves England may have had and then another fantastic curling effort from Beckham clinched victory at Old Trafford.

47. Azerbaijan 0-1 England, 13 October 2004, World Cup Qualifier
Owen maintained his impressive record whenever handed the captain's armband as he netted the only goal on a wet and windy night in Baku.

48. Spain 1-0 England, 17 November 2004, Friendly
A ninth-minute goal from Asier del Horno settled a match which saw the hosts put on an impressive midfield performance. Paul Robinson saved a penalty from Raul.

49. England 0-0 Holland, 09 February 2005, Friendly
Wright-Phillips had the best of England's chances in a quiet match at Villa Park.

50. England 4-0 Northern Ireland, 26 March 2005, World Cup Qualifier
Though clearly the better side, England couldn't find a way past the Northern Ireland defence in a goalless first half but goals from Joe Cole, Owen, an own goal from Chris Baird, and a strike from Lampard sealed what proved to be a comfortable victory.

51. England 2-0 Azerbaijan, 30 March 2005, World Cup Qualifier
Beckham and Gerrard secured victory with second-half strikes at St James' Park after England were thwarted on numerous occasions throughout the match.

52. USA 1-2 England, 28 May 2005, Friendly
Kieran Richardson marked his debut with two first-half goals in Chicago, with Clint Dempsey grabbing a consolation for the hosts.

53. England 3-2 Colombia, 31 May 2005, Friendly
Michael Owen scored a hat-trick in an entertaining match in New Jersey. An early brace saw England go 2-0 up only for Mario Yepes to bring Colombia within one at half-time. Owen then converted Beckham's brilliant cross before Aldo Ramirez completed the scoring.

54. Denmark 4-1 England, 17 August 2005, Friendly
England conceded three goals in seven second half minutes before Wayne Rooney got one back from a good England counter-attack. Soren Larsen made it 4-1 in the last minute.

55. Wales 0-1 England, 03 September 2005, World Cup Qualifier
With captain Beckham playing in a more central role than usual, England looked to control the midfield against Wales amid the passionate atmosphere of the Millennium Stadium. Joe Cole's deflected winner settled the game whilst Robinson pulled off a magnificent save from a John Hartson header.

56. Northern Ireland 1-0 England, 07 September 2005, World Cup Qualifier
Only Sven's third defeat in a competitive match as David Healy scored with an excellent finish to give the hosts a memorable win over England.

57. England 1-0 Austria, 08 October 2005, World Cup Qualifier
Lampard's penalty gave Sven's England all three points and after the match they were able to celebrate qualification as results elsewhere meant both they and Poland qualified for the World Cup Finals.

58. England 2-1 Poland, 12 October 2005, World Cup Qualifier
In a match to decide who won the qualifying group, England opened the scoring through Owen. The Polish equalised when Tomasz Frankowski's brilliant effort flew past Robinson but Lampard volleyed in a late winner.

59. England 3-2 Argentina, 12 November 2005, Friendly
In a wonderful match England twice came from behind to snatch a late victory in Geneva. Hernan Crespo gave Argentina the lead which Rooney equalised before half time. Then, trailing 2-1 with three minutes left, Owen headed home twice to stun the South Americans.

60. England 2-1 Uruguay, 01 March 2006, Friendly
Omar Pouso's spectacular volley stunned Anfield but Peter Crouch eqaulised for England before the excellent Joe Cole scored a winning goal in the final minute.

61. England 3-1 Hungary, 30 May 2006, Friendly
Goals from Steven Gerrard, John Terry and Peter Crouch secured the win against a poor Hungary side. Theo Walcott became the youngest England international when he came on after 65 minutes.

62. England 6-0 Jamaica, 03 June 2006, Friendly
Peter Crouch scored a hat-trick while there were also goals for Frank Lampard and Michael Owen. Jermaine Taylor put through his own net as England set off for the World Cup in positive fashion.

63. England 1-0 Paraguay, 10 June 2006, World Cup Finals
In sweltering conditions in Frankfurt, England's World Cup campaign got off to a perfect start when David Beckham's free-kick was deflected in by Carlos Gamarra after just three minutes.

64. England 2-0 Trinidad & Tobago, 15 June 2006, World Cup Finals
After Rooney made his comeback from a broken foot, Crouch and Gerrard scored late goals to book England's place in the last 16.

65. England 2-2 Sweden, 20 June 2006, World Cup Finals
The game got off to an awful start for England as Michael Owen was carried off injured in the first minute. Joe Cole then scored a stunning volley to put England 1-0 up at half-time only for Sweden to equalise through Marcus Allback. Steven Gerrard put England back in the lead with five minutes left but Henrik Larsson levelled it.

66. England 1-0 Ecuador, 25 June 2006, World Cup Finals
Another match playing in very hot conditions was decided by David Beckham's free-kick.

67. England 0-0 Portugal (aet. 0-0 90 mins, 1-3 on penalties), 01 July 2006, World Cup Finals
After a goalless match in which Beckham was taken off injured and Rooney was dismissed, England held on with admirable spirit to take the game to penalties. Lampard, Gerrard and Jamie Carragher missed their spot-kicks.