Sven-Goran Eriksson hopes he’ll be well enough to watch England v Brazil in March – and reveals one unfulfilled wish
Terminally-ill Sven-Goran Eriksson wants to be well enough to watch England take on Brazil in two months’ time – and has revealed one wish he never fulfilled.
The former England manager has pancreatic cancer – with about a year left to live at the “best case” – and the 75-year-old told Sky News’ Niall Paterson he wants to stay as healthy as he can in that time.
He wants to “not have too much pain” and plans to make it to England to watch the Three Lions taking on Brazil on 23 March at Wembley.
Sven-Goran Eriksson has revealed what he would like to do with the time he has left
Asked how he wants to spend the time he has left, he said: “Travelling, looking at a lot of football still.
“I hope maybe to go to England and see England versus Brazil in March. Great game, a warm-up for the World Cup, because that could also be the final [of World Cup 2026].”
And the role in football that he wished didn’t pass him by?
“My father is still a Liverpool supporter and I am a Liverpool supporter too, always have been,” he said.
“So I always wished to be the manager of Liverpool and that will not happen, but I’m still a Liverpool fan.”
He said waking up without pain is a “great gift” that we “take for granted” while healthy, but not when ill.
His children had taken him to hospital after he “felt dizzy” and “fell”, with doctors telling him he had a “small stroke” before revealing his cancer.
Since revealing his diagnosis on Thursday, he says he has received “a lot of messages and phone calls” from former colleagues and players he coached, including from his days as England boss.
Watch the full interview with Sven-Goran Eriksson on Friday night with Niall Paterson at 8:30pm tonight
Beckham alongside Eriksson before departing for the Euro 2004 Championships
He looks back at his five-year stint with England with some regret, believing the team could have done more than three consecutive quarter-final finishes in 2002, 2004 and 2006.
As England boss, Eriksson had many dealings with Premier League clubs as he called up players, none more so than Manchester United.
With key players like Wayne Rooney, David Beckham, Paul Scholes, Rio Ferdinand and Gary Neville playing for United at the time, he reflected on some “hard words” he used to have with former Red Devils boss Sir Alex Ferguson.
Read more:
Sven-Goran Eriksson says terminal cancer diagnosis was ‘shock’
Thierry Henry ‘cried almost daily’ early in pandemic
“Sometimes we needed a lot of players from Manchester United, that’s normal, they were the best club in the country,” he said, adding he “fully respects” the Scotsman.
“So there were hard words, but I can understand Sir Alex that he defended Manchester United. He hated when we took players for friendly games.”
He added: “But if I saw him two weeks later, he’d say ‘hello, my friend, how are you’.”
Between 2001 and 2006, Eriksson coached the so-called “golden generation” of footballers in the England team including Beckham, Steven Gerrard, Rooney and Frank Lampard.
While that squad didn’t manage to reach a major final, Eriksson believes the current crop is a “good team” and can win Euro 2024.
World
US blocks Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and 80 other officials from United Nations’ annual meeting in New York
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and 80 other officials have been blocked from attending September’s annual meeting of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
US secretary of state Marco Rubio has revoked the US visas of delegates from the Palestinian Authority (PA) and Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO), and denied others from applying for one.
It is the latest step by Donald Trump’s administration to target Palestinians with visa restrictions, and follows the suspension of a programme to allow injured children from Gaza to receive treatment in the US.
Mahmoud Abbas addressed the general assembly in 2024, but is barred from next month’s meeting. Pic: Reuters
“It is in our national security interests to hold the PLO and PA accountable for not complying with their commitments, and for undermining the prospects for peace,” a statement from the US State Department said.
It added that, to be considered partners for peace, both groups “must consistently repudiate terrorism, and end incitement to terrorism in education, as required by US law and as promised by the PLO”.
Offensive will cause ‘intolerable deaths’
Several US allies, including France, Malta, and Australia have announced plans to recognise Palestine as a state at September’s United Nations General Assembly. Canada and the UK will too, unless Israel meets certain conditions.
Israel declared Gaza’s largest city a dangerous combat zone on Friday.
The army launched a planned offensive that has drawn international condemnation.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Thick smoke rises from Gaza City after Israeli strikes
Foreign ministers from Iceland, Ireland, Luxembourg, Norway, Slovenia and Spain released a joint statement saying the military operations in Gaza City will cause “intolerable deaths of innocent Palestinian civilians”.
Gaza latest: Israel’s Gaza City offensive condemned
Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are sheltering in Gaza City while enduring famine.
An Israeli armoured vehicle in northern Gaza on Friday. Pic: AP
Palestinians ride a truck carrying humanitarian aid in Gaza City. Pic: AP
The Palestinian ambassador to the United Nations (UN), Riyad Mansour, said Mr Abbas had planned to lead the delegation to the UN meetings and was expected to address the general assembly at the general debate, which begins on 23 September.
He was also expected to attend a high-level meeting co-chaired by France and Saudi Arabia on 22 September about a two-state solution, a broad idea involving Israel coexisting with an independent Palestinian state.
The State of Palestine is an observer member of the UN, meaning it can speak at meetings but not vote on resolutions.
The State of Palestine cannot vote on UN resolutions. Pic: AP
US decision ‘contravenes international law’
The Palestinian Authority “expressed its deep regret and astonishment” at the visa decision, calling it “a violation of US commitments” as the host of the UN, and claiming it “contravenes international law”.
UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said the world body would be seeking clarification in the “hope that this will be resolved”.
Hundreds of diplomats left when Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu began speaking at the general assembly in 2024. Pic: Reuters
The State Department said that the Palestinian Authority’s mission to the UN, comprising officials who are permanently based there, would not be included in the restrictions.
Under a 1947 UN agreement, the US is generally required to allow access for foreign diplomats to the UN in New York.
But Washington has said it can deny visas for security, extremism and foreign policy reasons.
Read more from Sky News:
Analysis: Israel is killing a lot of journalists
Hospitals ‘overwhelmed’ by malnutrition cases
Tony Blair meets Trump over Gaza
Listen to The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim every Wednesday
The death toll in Gaza has now risen to 63,025, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, which does not differentiate between civilians and combatants.
It also reported five more malnutrition-related deaths in the last 24 hours, bringing the total number during the war to 322, with 121 of them children.
World
Brazil implores businesses to attend major climate summit, despite ‘second thoughts’ amid Trump backlash
The Brazilian hosts of the biggest climate meeting of the year have implored businesses to attend in November, amid concerns some are backing away from the climate agenda into the shadow of Donald Trump.
In an interview with Sky News, Ana Toni, chief executive of the COP30 climate summit in November, admitted some companies were having “second thoughts” about the global switch to green economies because policymakers were creating uncertainty.
The US President Donald Trump has been attacking wind farms and waging tariff wars that could slow the transition to green energy.
Banks including HSBC and Barclays have ditched a net zero alliance set up just four years ago by Mark Carney, now the Canadian Prime Minister.
Ana Toni, Brazil’s climate secretary, is chief executive of the COP30 climate talks. Pic: Reuters
But even before Trump took office, tech companies were quietly dropping climate targets to prioritise energy-hungry AI, and other businesses were “greenhushing” their climate initiatives for fear of backlash.
In this environment, there are fears fewer business leaders will attend the annual talks, which are also being hosted in a city on the edge of the Amazon that hasn’t enough hotel rooms.
On Friday, the COP30 team wrote to business leaders urging them to “step forward, not back” and travel to Belem, despite “logistical challenges” and the “background of systemic uncertainty”.
Ana Toni told Sky News: “We are very concerned that the enabling conditions must be there so that the private sector can also deliver where they do best, which is bringing in technology, bringing innovation and accelerating the process of decarbonisation.”
In August the share price of Danish wind farm developer plummeted after the US halted its Rhode Island wind farm, while the British Tories and Reform parties are also attacking net zero.
Ana Toni met with King Charles and leaders of other COP summits at Clarence House last year. Pic: Reuters
But Ms Toni there is “nothing to panic [about], because we can see that the transition is inevitable,” citing major progress in China, India and Europe and Brazil.
Referring to the US’s withdrawal from the COP process, she said: “198 countries minus one is not zero. And we will put all our efforts of working with the 197 countries that want to go forward and want to protect their population.”
“Climate action is not only [still] cool, it is necessary,” Ms Toni said.
“We all need to face reality. We are going through a huge climate crisis… If you’re not part of the solution, you’re part of the problem. Companies understand that.”
-
Sports3 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports1 year agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports2 years agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Sports2 years agoButton battles heat exhaustion in NASCAR debut
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment11 months agoHere are the best electric bikes you can buy at every price level in October 2024