The former England boss also discussed the “most talented player” he’s ever coached.
Sven-Goran Eriksson has revealed which current England player he would have loved to have had in his ‘Golden Generation’ team from the early noughties.
The Swedish football coach was appointed as head coach of the English national team back in 2001 and subsequently led the team to the quarter-finals of two World Cups and one European Championship.
The 76-year-old, who was diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer earlier this year, managed stars such as David Beckham, Steven Gerrard, Wayne Rooney and John Terry during his tenure as boss of the England senior team.
Previously, in a conversation with Betway Insider back in 2022, Eriksson disclosed that former Manchester United midfielder Paul Scholes was “the most talented player” he ever coached.
He said: “You can pick so many immense players from my time. Rooney, Beckham, Rio, Terry, and Owen when he was at his peak.
“But Scholes was a playmaker, finisher – he wasn’t the best in the world at defending, but he could do it. He was a brilliant football player.”
Earlier this week, Channel 4 Sport released a heartwarming clip of Eriksson watching video messages of support from a number of his ‘Golden Generation’ prodigies.
Joe Cole, Paul Scholes, Michael Owen, Steven Gerrard, Gary Neville, and Owen Hargreaves all expressed their condolences towards their former gaffer’s health struggles.
In a conversation with BoyleSports, Eriksson was asked which of the current crop of England stars would make it into his prolific team of two decades ago.
“It’s very easy, Harry Kane,” he said.
“He is a golden goalscorer, wherever he plays and you always need that.
“He’s not only a goalscorer, he’s a target player, he can make assists, he’s big, he’s a good header, good feet, he’s strong, not the quickest in the world but he’s quick.”
He added: “Every team needs a player like that. It’s only one of them, he’s very special. I like him and I suppose he will be one of the most important players for England.”
The former Manchester City coach also revealed his most difficult opponent during this tenure at England.
The best team we faced, I would say Brazil 2002,” he said.
“Even when they were one player down, 10 against our 11, we could not get the ball from them. Technically they were extremely good and there you could pick any player, Ronaldinho who scored a goal for example.
“They won the World Cup, they beat us, and I had nothing to say about that because they deserved to beat us, and they deserved to win the World Cup.”
England play host to Brazil in a friendly at Wembley stadium tonight, a game in which several of the country’s most exciting young talent’s could make their senior debut.
Manchester United’s Kobbie Mainoo, Everton’s Jarrad Branthwaite, and Newcastle United’s Anthony Gordon were all called up to the squad earlier this week.
Eriksson, on the other hand, will fulfill a boyhood dream later this afternoon when he leads Liverpool Legends in their charity match at home to Ajax Legends.
Speaking at yesterday’s press conference ahead of the game, Eriksson said: “When I was a manager I always dreamt about Liverpool, but that never happened.
“It was close once, it was some discussion once, many years ago… it never happened. But now it happens. When they asked, I thought it was a joke. I said of course, and then it’s charity, which makes it even more lovely.
“‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ is magic. I’m looking forward to it.”
That game kicks off at 3pm at Anfield.
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