Eriksson: Best is still to come

Eriksson thanked his players for the win

Sven-Goran Eriksson insisted his England side will improve again after their stirring victory over Argentina.

England were transformed from the side that clung to a draw against Sweden as they outplayed one of the tournament favourites.

England's sweet revenge

We have to prepare for the Nigeria match like it was the final

Sven-Goran Eriksson

And their coach believes there is still plenty more to come.

Eriksson said: "If we can stay in the tournament I think we will get better and better.

"We had three, four, even five players at the start coming back from long-term injuries who were not 100% match-fit.

"With every game they play they will get better and better."

Scholes: Win was better than Munich

And he added: "All the players did a great, great job and I said thank you to them in the dressing room after the game.

"In the first game against Sweden we played some very good football during the first 35 minutes so I am not surprised that when we are focused we can do wonderful things.

"Tonight, it was a very difficult game but I think we deserved to win, we had more chances than them."

Michael Owen said England had no weak links

But he added: "In the last 15 minutes we had big problems. Argentina played very well and came forward with a lot of players.

"But we defended well and played with a big, big heart and that's important in football.

"It was a very important victory for us especially after our second-half performance against Sweden."

England now need only to avoid defeat against already-eliminated Nigeria on Wednesday to reach the last 16.

Match reaction from the Argentina camp

Eriksson said: "We have to prepare for the Nigeria match like it was the final because now we have things in our own hands and it would be very sad, very stupid, to let it go.

"Nigeria were unlucky against Argentina and hit the post twice against Sweden so I think it will be difficult for us."

Every player has to play to their maximum and I thought we did that today

Michael Owen

Michael Owen, who won the decisive penalty against Argentina, said that the game was an occasion on which every player performed at their peak.

But he insisted: "There was no revenge, nothing like that. It was a football match and it was great for the supporters.

Fans celebrate England win

"It's a great feeling to beat a team like Argentina, one of the favourites for the tournament - it was a great night for us.

"It's always nice to win games against world-class teams like them.

"You can't really have a weak link, every single player has got to play to their maximum and I thought they did that today.

"The keeper was great, none of the back four had a bad game.

"Sometimes you all gel, you all click and that's what happened today."