Eriksson - we must not freeze.

By John Curtis, PA Sport, Shizuoka

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Sven-Goran Eriksson has warned England not to freeze if they want to topple Brazil in Friday's World Cup quarter-final in Shizuoka.

The England coach will urge his players to "keep calm" as he prepares England for their sternest test of the World Cup so far.

Eriksson will demand a performance on a par with the one that saw England overcome Argentina 1-0 at the Sapporo Dome a fortnight ago.

England face a daunting task to topple Brazil for the first time in the World Cup, particularly with Ronaldo and Rivaldo having scored nine goals between them so far.

But Eriksson knows his side have to handle the pressure - none of them have played in a World Cup quarter-final - and try and treat it as "a normal game" if they are to survive.

He said: "I don't know exactly what I am going to say to the players but it is very important that you go out and stay calm.

"It's vital that you are not too nervous and do not display too much tension and instead play football as we know we can play football.

"If we are too tense or nervous, we will not win the game. It is very important to try and take the pressure and treat it as if it is an ordinary game - even though we all know that is not the case."

Eriksson will have a clean bill of health to face the Brazilians with his lethal weapon Michael Owen given the all clear to play.

Owen has been struggling with a groin injury but trained on Thursday at the stadium and Eriksson claims he is fully fit.

He said: "Michael is so important to us and he has seen in the last two games just how well he and Emile Heskey have played together.

"We all saw against Argentina just what a threat that Michael can be and it is a massive tonic for us that he will be available on Friday. It gives the whole team a lift."

Eriksson is refusing to be fazed by the reputation of the Brazilians who looked far from impressive in obtaining a 2-0 victory over Belgium on Monday.

He said: "They are an excellent team who have a lot of skill and we must pay attention to them and defend very well.

"But you can't win games by only defending. You have to attack as well and we have a very good team.

"We have to perform like we did against Argentina. We are a very good side and there is no reason why we cannot come out top if we perform to the best of our ability."