England manager Roy Hodgson would have been sacked if he was a foreigner, claims Sven-Goran Eriksson
Exclusive: Former England manager insists incumbent boss is still in a job only because of his nationality after losing first two games at the World Cup
Roy Hodgson has overseen England's worst performance in a World Cup finals Photo: ACTION IMAGES
By Ben Rumsby
1:42PM BST 22 Jun 2014
Roy Hodgson avoided the sack over England's quickest ever World Cup exit only because he is English, Sven-Goran Eriksson claimed on Sunday.
In an exclusive interview with Telegraph Sport, Eriksson insisted a foreign manager would have been dismissed on the spot by the Football Association had he overseen two successive defeats at the tournament in Brazil.
The Swede, who lost his job as England boss in 2006 following a hat-trick of quarter-final exits at major finals, also declared he would relish a second spell in charge if the FA jettisoned Hodgson.
The FA has insisted it has no intention of doing so, despite him having overseen England's unprecedented World Cup demise, with defeats against Italy and Uruguay eliminating them inside six days.
Belgium v Russia: as it happened
South Korea v Algeria: as it happened
Rooney: We are too nice
Maradona accuses Fifa of Costa Rica conspiracy
Europe trampled by Latin foes
Hodgson should stay until Euro 2016
"I know for sure, if that had been me, I would have been sacked at once," Eriksson said. "If he were foreign, he would be sacked. I'm quite sure about that."
Asked whether the FA was right to stand by Hodgson, Eriksson said: "If they don't want me back, keep Hodgson. He's good."
The 66-year-old, currently managing Chinese club Guangzhou R&F, added: "I would come back at once, of course. But that will not happen."
Eriksson also rubbished suggestions Hodgson did not have enough good players to work with.
"I don't know why the expectations are so low today," he said. "The expectations in the three tournaments I had the team, was the final or semi-final – no other discussions. And when we reached the quarter-final, that was not good enough.
"Today, it seems to be very, very good if you would do this. I don't think things have changed, realistically. England has still a very, very good team." He added: "It's not that the rest of the world is far, far ahead of England. It's not like that."
Asked whether history might judge his own reign more kindly than it was perceived at the time, Eriksson replied: "Thank you for that! I don't know if people are thinking like that but I thank you for it anyhow."
The Swede claimed England had not performed badly in their two matches in Brazil and had played some "positive football" but had no luck.
"Of course, when you're in a big tournament like the World Cup, it's not enough to play well," he said. "You have to win."
He refused to criticise Hodgson's tactics or team selection, although he acknowledged the debate over whether it was a mistake not to select John Terry and Ashley Cole.
"You never know if that's right or wrong because you can never replay these two games with Ashley Cole and Terry," he said.
He did hint that Wayne Rooney – who Eriksson insisted was still England's best player – had not been correctly deployed at all times by Hodgson.
"The best position for Rooney, in my opinion, is second striker," he said, backing the Manchester United star to inherit the England captaincy if Steven Gerrard retires after Tuesday's final Group D game against Costa Rica. "I said many years ago, 'Don't kill Rooney – you need him'. I can still say the same thing – you still need him."
Eriksson said how many changes Hodgson makes to his squad post-World Cup will depend on whether he wants to win the 2016 European Championship in France or build for Russia 2018.
As for the current tournament, the Swede tipped Brazil and Argentina to win but did not rule out Germany, Holland and France. "It's the big football countries once again and it's a pity England is not together with them."
- Gerrard tells Redknapp: name and shame Spurs' England shirkers
- Gerrard left 'broken', on the bench and unable to decide future
- Hodgson sees a bright future for England following elimination
- Our daily pick of the best and quirkiest World Cup photos
Football News »
World Cup »
Mobile »