Sven Goran Eriksson believes England should have won the 2006 World Cup in Germany… and has hinted that fans would be very happy to go back to having the results he achieved as England boss.

In an exclusive interview with Mirror Sport, Eriksson insists he is proud of what he did during his time with England.

"As a team, we did not do badly at all," he says.

"At that time, no-one was happy because England must win the World Cup - but after 2006, what has England been doing?"

(Image: Daily Mirror)

Eriksson calls the current England group, now on the verge of qualifying for the 2018 Word Cup, "a very good squad with very good players" and says Gareth Southgate is doing an "excellent" job.

However, he clearly believes that the group he had between 2004 and 2006 was particularly special. At both Euro 2004 and the 2006 World Cup, England were knocked out by Portugal at the quarter-final stage, on penalties.

(Image: Mirrorpix)

Wayne Rooney recently claimed that, had he not got injured early into that Euro 2004 quarter-final, he thinks England would have won the tournament.

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But Eriksson - who now works with Fan League, the app that allows you to predicts football results against your friends and win cash prizes - says 2006 was their really big chance.

Sven-Göran Eriksson promotes 'Fan League' app

"In 2004 and 2006, Tord [Grip, his assistant] and I and the coaching staff were looking around and we couldn't see many teams we thought were better than us, so we thought we had a chance.

"Personally, I thought 2006 in Germany - we could have won it and maybe we should have.

"I think we were unlucky with the sending off of Rooney. We played one hour with 10 against 11 - that's not easy at that level.

(Image: Alex Livesey/Getty Images)

(Image: AFP/Getty)

One of the key questions that has always plagued Eriksson is the issue of playing Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard together in England's midfield.

Even now, more than a decade on, the pair's supposed inability to work as a pair remains a standing joke among football fans. The gag was even used to announce Lampard's signing by BT Sport - where he is once again lining up alongside Gerrard.

(Image: Ben Radford)

So, does Sven ever get fed up of being asked about the partnership that apparently never worked?

"No, I don’t get fed up of it. But during my time there, when they more or less played together every game, I think we lost one qualifier in 5.5 years.

"At the big tournaments, we lost twice on penalties and once against Brazil. I think they did well.

"Of course, two great footballers like Gerrard an Lampard can play together. They can both defend, they can both attack, they can both pass the ball, they can both score goals.

(Image: The FA via Getty)

(Image: Getty)

Pushed on what he did to try and make the partnership work, Eriksson insists he had numerous tactical conversations with the Liverpool and Chelsea stars.

"We discussed it many times - one of you goes and makes deep runs, the other one, you sit. They were good at it, both of them. One goes and one stays - if your name is Lampard or Gerrard, who cares?"

In the eyes of many England supporters, pairing Gerrard and Lampard together in central midfield in a 4-4-2 meant one player in particular suffered: Paul Scholes.

(Image: Getty)

Scholes famously retired from international football after Euro 2004, at the age of just 29. The theory has always been that he quit as a result of being shunted out to the left wing to accommodate Lampard and Gerrard.

Eriksson remembers it differently.

"Paul Scholes had everything as a football player," he tells us. "It was a very sad for me, the day after the tournament in Portugal when he came to me and said, 'It's finished, I don’t want to play any more.'"

So, did he try to convince Scholes to play on?

"Of course I did! I said go home and we can talk about in a few weeks. I tried, but he said, ‘Sorry Sven, that’s it’.

Did Scholes explain his decision?

"No. I think Paul didn’t like to stay in hotels. He’s a family man. Of course, if you go to the World Cup or Euros, it’s along time you stay together, so I think that was his main reason."

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