'Fail against Nigeria, and this all means nothing'

It epitomised everything about England that had been missing against Sweden. Precise, penetrating passing, culminating in a deep ball out to the right and a vicious late volley from Teddy Sheringham. Only Argentina's goalkeeper, Pablo Cavallero, denied what was so nearly the goal of the tournament.

"Yeah, nearly," drily declared that man for all seasons, now in the winter of his career. "But nearly's not good enough, is it?" The same might be said of England. Nearly there, but still capable of a mighty fall if the attitude is not right on Wednesday against Nigeria. But while others were in danger of being carried to distraction on a wave of euphoria, Sheringham was a settling presence afterwards in the clamour of the Sapporo Dome.

"Let's not get carried away," he said, although he had as much success as a Canute with the world's media. "It's a massive game against Nigeria. If we falter in that, this all means nothing. We have to make sure we're right on our toes for that one." Someone jested that England certainly wouldn't need any lifting for the task ahead.

"No, we need calming down now," said the Tottenhan striker, whose near 40-minute appearance from the substitutes' bench offered England an experienced forward presence, and as the pressure began to be applied by Argentina reinforcement.

"The hype's going to be absolutely amazing in England and everybody's going to talk about us winning the World Cup. We've got to come back down to earth." Sensibly, the 36-year-old also refused to overstate his team's performance, one which told us that they have discovered a burgeoning confidence and have struck a rhythm at an appropriate moment; not suddenly become all-conquering.

"It's not a clear-cut situation to say we've beaten one of the best teams in the world," said Sheringham. "We know we were hanging on. We're no fools. The last 20 minutes it was backs against the wall. They were passing and moving and playing the game how it should be and getting in the box and making chances. And we rode our luck in that time. We've done a very good job getting in front and hanging on to it, but there's still work to be done."

Indeed, he was prepared to credit the Argentinians for their contribution to a nervy, but compelling spectacle. "With a little bit of luck on their part, the game could have ended up a different result. In games like that you've got to ride your luck at times. We did that, and kept persevering, and when you've got a one-goal lead you've got something to hold on to. Even championship-winning teams don't play well all the time and you know there'll be teams you come up against when there'll be a stalemate. That's exactly what Sweden wanted. But the Argentinians did everything different. They wanted to win; they came out to play, and that leaves little gaps at times. We exploited them really well."

Many judges, including this one, felt that Sheringham should have been employed at some stage during the 1-1 draw against Sweden, particularly in such a woeful second period. Though Eriksson decided against it then, his decision to replace Emile Heskey with a player who may not possess the pace of a Linford Christie or the physique of a Lennox Lewis, but is capable of gaining yards, often surreptitiously, with his anticipation and experience, proved a valid one.

Sheringham clearly relished the unoccupied land beckoning behind the Argentinian rearguard. "Yes, but when you're winning 1-0 the longer it goes into the game they're going to allow you that. They've got to push on to try to get back in the game, and that's exactly what they were doing. It does leave spaces."

The Tottenham striker senses that although the squad is comprised of many young and internationally inexperienced performers, just playing in a World Cup is honing the qualities required. "There's a growing maturity and that tells you about the character of the team more than anything," he said. "That you can grind out a result when you know you're getting outplayed at certain times."

That fact is what ultimately may earn England a place in the later rounds. If there are any doubts Sheringham may just remind you of a certain Champions' League final three years ago.