ERIKSSON: NO REAL APPROACH
Sven-Goran Eriksson ruled himself out of the running for the vacant managerial post at Real Madrid as he concentrated his mind on Friday's World Cup group draw.
Eriksson has been touted as a potential long-term replacement for coach Wanderley Luxemburgo, who was sacked earlier this week.
The Brazilian has been replaced on a short-term basis by reserve team coach Juan Ramon Lopez Caro, leading to speculation that Eriksson could leave his England post after the World Cup finals.
However, while former Lyon coach Paul Le Guen remains a possible candidate, Eriksson has joined Arsene Wenger, Jose Mourinho and Rafael Benitez in distancing himself from the job.
The England coach insisted: "Nobody has asked me about anything, I have not had any contact from Real Madrid regarding that.
"I still have two and a half years left , that's plenty of time and we'll see what happens."
Not that Eriksson would be likely to publicly admit any interest in another post, with the Swede aware his England future will be determined by next summer's tournament.
He told Swedish newspaper Nya Wermlands-Tidningen: "This is not the kind of job you go looking for, but one that you are offered. And that offer depends on if it fits in with the job I've got at the moment or not."
Whether England can make an impact at the World Cup will depend, in part, on the outcome of Friday's draw, when their seeding means they will initially avoid the likes of Brazil, Argentina, France, Italy and Germany.
But while the best outcome could be facing Switzerland, Togo and Trinidad & Tobago, they could also end up in a group including Holland, Australia and the United States.
Chelsea defender John Terry insisted: "There are some great teams out there but we'll be confident, whoever we get. It's going to be tough out there - the best teams in the world are there - so it's down to us to go on and win it."
While England's position as the second team in FIFA's rankings behind only Brazil was rather mysterious, owing much to their quarter-final finish in 2002, Holland were unfortunate to miss out on a seeding.
The Dutch may be third in the current FIFA world rankings, while the Czech Republic are second, but both countries are dangerous 'floaters' in the pool of unseeded European teams, with Mexico seeded instead.
Holland international Arjen Robben admitted: "They're all strong teams so we'll just have to see. What is more important is who you get from the other two pots.
"We're in the second seeds and we just have to accept that. As for Mexico, that's down to success of the past. I can't change the rules, although I'd rather be among the first seeds."
Indeed, apart from Holland, Portugal and the Czechs, the most dangerous non-European teams are not only the United States and Australia, but also the Ivory Coast, South Korea and Japan.
All will be revealed on Friday and Everton midfielder Phil Neville concluded: "There was jubilation when we qualified but it's not until we know who we'll be playing that you can start to get really excited about it.
"World Cup fever will then start again."
