Eriksson's words of comfort

Sven-Göran Eriksson has been working hard to rebuild the morale of the England squad after their heartbreaking defeat by France last night.

Comfort for captain
England led 1-0 as their opening Group B fixture entered added time, only for Zinedine Zidane to convert a free-kick and then a penalty to give the holders a stunning victory. David Beckham earlier saw his 73rd-minute spot-kick saved by Fabien Barthez, and Eriksson admitted he had taken time out to comfort his captain.

Upbeat note
"I think I said something about the fact that it is important now to build it up again," said Eriksson. "Not from a fitness point of view but morally and mentally." Generally, though, Eriksson sounded an upbeat note today as he and his squad attempted to come to terms with last night's late twist.

'Respect for England'
Indeed, he believes England could still emerge as champions on 4 July if they continue to produce the level of performance that left them confident of victory until the dying minutes. "Everybody who saw it will have a lot of respect for England - I am sure of that," he said. "We will spend two minutes talking about the game and more time talking about the future."

Injury worries
However, two injury worries emerged from the game, the worse a twisted ankle for Paul Scholes that could keep the midfield player our of Thursday's game against Switzerland. Eriksson said: "Scholes will not train today or tomorrow and is in doubt for Thursday."

Defensive dilemma
Gary Neville also took a knock but Eriksson was more confident about his right-back. "Gary Neville has a slight problem," the coach said. "If he doesn't train today he will tomorrow." Elsewhere in defence, centre-back John Terry looks set to return from his hamstring injury, but could have a job unseating his replacement, Ledley King.

Praise for King
Eriksson said. "It's good to have these kind of problems. Ledley's performance was absolutely fantastic - I don't remember a mistake at all - and now Terry will be ready. He will do everything with us in training over the next two games."