Eriksson's England keep on climbing

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TSUNA, Japan (AP) -- England's Swedish coach Sven-Goran Eriksson knows exactly what he's in for if his side meets Brazil in the quarterfinals.

"Brazil is a tricky one, very tricky, it would have been nice to play them in the final," Eriksson said as Brazil prepared to face Belgium on Monday in their second-round match.

Some have suggested defense may be Brazil's weak spot. Not Eriksson, whose side manhandled Denmark 3-0 Saturday to reach its first quarterfinals since 1990.

"They have very good defenders," Eriksson said. "I saw part of the game against Costa Rica (Brazil won 5-2) but in that game they wanted to score lots of goals."

"They had a very attacking lineup with plenty of attacking midfielders and even attacking wingbacks, so something had to give. Other times I have seen them they have defended very well."

England's World Cup route since Sven-Goran Eriksson took over has been an amazing upward climb. England hasn't conceded a goal since its opening 1-1 tie with Sweden, beat old foe Argentina 1-0 and played a major part in the South Americans' shock first-round exit.

As well as its strong defense and well-organized midfield, England hit three goals in the first 45 minutes against Denmark, which had downed and ousted defending champion France 2-0 in its previous game.

The signs are that, after overcoming a pre-World Cup injury crisis, everything is coming together.

"We have done our job, played some great football, and in the second half we just made sure of it," David Beckham said after the victory over Denmark.

"I was pleased for (goalscorers) Emile Heskey and Michael Owen. It was nice for Michael to get his first goal of the competition," he said.

"The whole team came in for a bit of stick after the last game (a 0-0 tie with Nigeria). One person described it as awful but we have done a good job today."

They've done a good job since Eriksson took over 18 months ago with England last in its qualifying group without a goal and just one point after a 1-0 loss at home to Germany and a 0-0 tie with Finland in Helsinki.

At that time, England was five points behind Germany but, under Eriksson and with Beckham leading them as captain, the players turned that around.

The finest moment was a 5-1 victory over the Germans at Munich with Michael Owen scoring three times. A victory over Albania and Beckham's standout injury time free kick in a 2-2 tie with Greece meant England qualified as group winner and Germany, which had a psychological hold over the English in World Cup play, had to go through the playoffs.

Throughout, Eriksson, who has had successes at club level in Sweden, Portugal and more recently in Italy, has downplayed the achievement largely to keep the players sharp for each game.

"I don't feel like a hero," he said. "If we can go further then we'll be very popular in Japan and England. It's very good for English football, but I don't feel like a hero because this is a good football team."

"I think we played good football," the former Sampdoria and Lazio coach added. "We scored three times and had opportunities to score more. But the result is too much. We deserved to win but maybe not by that score."

Asked if he and the players had thought of reaching the final, Eriksson said: "Of course we've thought about it. But we don't talk about it. So far, that's brought us luck so we should continue like that.

"It's very good to be one of the best eight out there. To be among the top four would be even better."

Looking ahead to either Brazil or Belgium on Friday at Shizuoka, Eriksson said: "They are two different classes of football. One is a samba and the other is European. We'll have to see which one we play."

He refused to say which team he would prefer to play. While Belgium, on paper, should be easier, the prospect of facing star-studded Brazil in a World Cup quarterfinal is mouthwatering.

Beckham has no doubts.

"We're not bothered who we come up against now," the Manchester United star said.

"We're a game closer now. Three more games and we're in the World Cup final. That's how we've got to think now."

England has six days to repair some minor injury problems affecting Owen, Paul Scholes and Heskey and might even have Bayern Munich midfielder Owen Hargreaves back after missing two games with a shinbone problem.

"Michael Owen has a small groin problem and, at 3-0 ahead, I did not want to risk him," Eriksson said. "I think he will be OK for the next round."