The England team under Sven-Goran Eriksson never made it to the final of a major tournament. 

But the Swedish manager later admitted he was “sure” the Three Lions were set to win the World Cup in 2006. 

“In 2002, I didn’t think we’d win it,” Eriksson told Sky Sports. 

“I didn’t think we were ready for that. 

“In 2004, I thought we should’ve reached the final of the European Championships. By 2006, I was sure we would win the World Cup.”

Sven’s penalties regret

But Wayne Rooney’s injury struggles in the build-up did not help, and Eriksson’s inclusion of an untested Theo Walcott was a major squad shock. 

The team scraped past Paraguay and Trinidad and Tobago, drew with Sweden and then managed a win over Ecuador. 

But when England came up against Portugal, it was penalties that proved their undoing. 

“In 2006 for sure, I’d have taken a mental coach for penalties,” Eriksson admitted. 

“That was a big mistake. The biggest mistake I did, I think. We had many players in 2006 who’d been around for a long time.

“I thought they’d handle more or less everything. But we weren’t especially good at penalties. The pressure at the time was very big that we should go to the final. When you stand there taking a penalty, you feel it.”