Eriksson reveals his admiration of Argentina

Sven Goran Eriksson has often said how "honoured" he feels to be England's head coach. Eriksson has a penchant for flattery, but there is no reason to dispute this. Like most Swedes he grew up watching English football. He visited England when learning his trade as a coach a quarter of a century ago and remains influenced by what he saw at clubs such as Liverpool and Ipswich.

Yet if he were able to choose a national team to manage based purely on the quality of its players, he would likely choose Argentina. During his time in club management Eriksson signed a string of Argentinians, including five of the squad who will face England in Sapporo on Friday. More than £75m, most of it coming from the over-stretched pockets of the Lazio president Sergio Cragnotti, was spent on Hernan Crespo, Claudio Lopez, Juan Sebastian Veron, Diego Simeone and Matias Almeyda. None of the current England squad were bought by Eriksson, though he did once bid for Michael Owen.

If there is any solace to be taken from this imbalance it is that Eriksson may have a master plan to combat Argentina in much the same way Terry Venables, a huge admirer of Dutch football, did against the Netherlands in Euro 96. If a 4-1 win to England seems improbable given their performance against Sweden it should be remembered that Venables' finest 90 minutes was preceded by a drab 1-1 draw against Switzerland and a not-entirely convincing defeat of Scotland.

While Eriksson has hinted at a tactical change for Friday he said the main task was to ensure his players, who had the day off yesterday, are in a positive mood. One hopes they will not, therefore, get to hear his description of their opponents yesterday.

Before big matches Bill Shankly used to prowl around the Liverpool dressing room describing the opposition. "Billy Bremner? He's rubbish. He can't pass. John Giles? He's useless. Too slow. Jack Charlton? Too old. He takes 10 minutes to turn. Terry Cooper? Over-rated. He can't defend and can't head." Afterwards, win or lose, he would remind his team just what great players they had been up against.

Eriksson, in front of the media at least, takes the opposite approach. He purred: "Argentina are not as aggressive as Sweden, but set different challenges. Their individuals are extremely skilful and very quick. In Ariel Ortega, Pablo Aimar and Juan Sebastian Veron they have exceptional passers."

Eriksson bought Veron twice, having` also signed him for Sampdoria – for a mere £2.6m, less than a 10th of the figure Manchester United paid for him. Veron did not live up to his billing at Old Trafford and he said this week of his season in England: "At times I've felt like I've been humiliated. I have no feelings for the English people. I just want to show the Manchester United fans what I can do."

Eriksson added: "I don't know why he hasn't settled in England. For the first couple of months, whenever I saw him play I thought he was fantastic. With his vision and passing he is a very flexible player. He can be the sitting player in front of the back line or play behind the strikers."

Eriksson also praised Simeone, who is infamous in England as the man who provoked David Beckham's dismissal. "Simeone is a hard worker," Eriksson said. "He is tactically excellent. He is always a team player who gives a helping hand where a helping hand is required."

To their right in Sapporo will be Ortega. "He's very quick. He can beat his man with pace or skill," Eriksson said. On the left may be Claudio Lopez. Eriksson said: "He is very quick, his pace is incredible. He had a very bad injury and suffered when he first came to Italy, but he is now back to what he was."

Another testing night for Danny Mills seems in prospect. And Ashley Cole. Between them Sol Campbell, meanwhile, will remember Gabriel Batistuta, a scorer in St-Etienne four years ago. "Batistuta is a goalscorer from every position," Eriksson said. "If he is competing for the ball with a defender they cannot move him. He is like a block of granite. And he is a great header of the ball. Look at the goal he scored against Nigeria."

"Batigol" might not play, having suffered a calf injury on Sunday. Oh dear. Argentina would then have to play Crespo, on whom Eriksson lavished £35m. "He is also a goalscorer," Eriksson said, adding: "He has more movement and is technically better than Batistuta."

Fortunately time ran out. Otherwise Eriksson would doubtless have informed us of the brilliance of Walter Samuel and Roberto Ayala's defending and the quality of Diego Placente, a European Cup finalist with Bayer Leverkusen this season, and Internazionale's Javier Zanetti. Which is to say nothing of the reserves, such as Kily Gonzalez and Marcelo Gallardo. Barcelona's Javier Saviola, one of the brightest young talents in Europe, and Santiago Solari, the man who displaced Steve McManaman at Real Madrid, could not even make the squad.

"They are an extremely good football team with very good players," concluded Eriksson. "But it is not impossible to beat them."

From the briefing he delivered to the press that is the only line to tell the team. He need not add that, despite Argentina playing friendlies in Spain, Germany and Italy, no one has actually done so since July 2000.