Ljungberg - feeling confident.

By Mark Bradley, PA Sport Chief Soccer Writer, Japan

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Fredrik Ljungberg believes Sweden now hold the advantage over England in the tight battle for qualification from their World Cup group.

Ljungberg, who played through the pain barrier in the 1-1 draw between the two countries in Saitama on Sunday, is now looking for Sweden to make the most of the next group game.

For while England take on the might of Argentina, the Swedes face the unpredictability of Nigeria, who lost their opening match against the South American side.

If Sweden win, they would in all likelihood move into the Group F driving seat unless Sven-Goran Eriksson's side can upset the odds in Sapporo against Argentina.

"I have always said Argentina are favourites to win the World Cup so it's going to be hard for England," warned Ljungberg.

"England have a very good team and there should be pressure on them but it's very important for them to get a result against Argentina.

"It would probably be easier for them if they had beaten us and I think that maybe we have a slight advantage now, although Nigeria will also be tough to beat.

"Ljungberg was impressed with the way that his Arsenal team-mate David Seaman rose to the challenge of denying Sweden as they strove for a winner against England.

"When David comes close to you, he's very big and good. It's almost impossible to score then. He's a very good goalkeeper," added the Gunners midfielder.

He also gave an insight into how Sweden had turned round the match after half-time and imposed themselves on Eriksson's team.

"We decided to try to force England back with some long balls for the first 15-20 minutes but then carried on doing it for the rest of the first half, which wasn't really the point," revealed Ljungberg.

"We made that mistake but we talked about it at half-time. We played much better after that when we started to play the ball on the floor and made England move a lot.

"We were a bit disappointed not to score another goal as we had a lot more chances than them in the second half.

"As for his own fitness, Ljungberg revealed that he had only just passed a late test on the eve of the game.

"I had problems with my hip. Of course we were a bit worried as it was a couple of days before we found out what it was," he added.

"I did a fitness test on Saturday afternoon. I felt some pain but I could play with it. There's only a World Cup every four years so I decided to play."