Eriksson revels in South American record

BADEN BADEN, Germany, June 24 (Reuters) England may toil against South American teams but they will go into tomorrow's World Cup second round match with Ecuador knowing they have nearly always won such games under Sven-Goran Eriksson.

Though England's quarter-final exit to Brazil at the 2002 World Cup had keeper David Seaman in tears, they have won their six other matches against South Americans since Eriksson took effective charge in February 2001.

It has very rarely been easy, with England often struggling to keep possession against sides who are confident on the ball and give little away at the back.

Only two weeks ago, England needed an own goal by Paraguay captain Carlos Gamarra to make a 1-0 winning start to their Group B campaign in Germany.

In their dummy-run for that game, England had snatched a 2-1 victory over Uruguay in March after trailing 1-0 until 15 minutes from the end. Winger Joe Cole only grabbed the winner in the third minute of stoppage time.

Eriksson's men also left it late last November when they were outplayed for long periods by old foes Argentina in a friendly in Geneva. Trailing 2-1 with three minutes to go, Michael Owen scored twice to snaffle an unlikely victory.

Last year's US tour yielded a less than emphatic 3-2 win over Colombia in which Owen, now back in England with a ruptured cruciate ligament, scored a hat-trick.

If defeat by Brazil marked the low point of England's 2002 World Cup, their highlight was a 1-0 group stage win over Argentina, courtesy of a penalty converted by captain David Beckham beneath the Sapporo Dome.

Eriksson, whose preparations for Japan brought a morale-boosting 4-0 win over Paraguay, expects a tough game tomorrow from a well-organised side.

But he told reporters: ''I think and strongly believe we will go through.'' The Swede is reportedly considering a marked tactical switch for the match in Stuttgart, bringing in Michael Carrick as a holding midfielder and dropping forward Peter Crouch to the bench.

The move would leave Wayne Rooney as a lone striker, backed by a five-man midfield in which Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard would provide attacking support.

Owen Hargreaves was tipped by the British media today to replace Jamie Carragher as stand-in at right back for the injured Gary Neville.

REUTERS DH VC1622