Sven already looking for World Cup HQ

Sven-Goran Eriksson has stepped up his preparations for the next World Cup finals by planning a fact-finding mission to Germany.

The England coach is to visit the host country in the near future to look at possible base camps for the England squad.

England top World Cup qualifying Group Six with 10 points and will move a step nearer qualification if they beat Northern Ireland in Manchester and Azerbaijan four days later in Newcastle.

Possible base camps have already been identified and Eriksson will look at several of the favourites on his trip.

"I am going to see one or two places," he said. "We have to qualify first but if we do that and if we could find a place such as we had in Portugal that would be good because the facilities we had for Euro 2004 were absolutely perfect. The distance to the training ground and distance to matches was perfect - although it would be very difficult in Germany because it is a bigger country."

England took over the entire hotel in Lisbon. Their training facilities were just five minutes away and they only left the Portuguese capital once during the entire tournament, to play Switzerland in Coimbra.

The Football Association are looking for a similar arrangement in Germany and Eriksson said: "It is very important to get these things right because you know that, hopefully, you will be there for a long time.

"Where we stayed in Japan was fantastic, Portugal even better."

The England coach will also be buoyed by the news that he has secured a four-week break for the players before the tournament.

Eriksson, whose contract with the FA goes through to 2008, admitted that the quarter-final defeats in the World Cup in Japan and Euro 2004 in Portugal were a major blow.

"Yes, it is unfinished business," he said. "I want to fulfil myself and give it a big try in Germany."

ENGLAND DATES

26 Mar: N Ireland (WC, Old Trafford)
30 Mar: Azerbaijan (WC, St James' Pk)
17 Aug: Denmark (F, Copenhagen)
3 Sept: Wales (WC, away, tbc)
7 Sept: N Ireland (WC, away, tbc)
8 Oct: Austria (WC, Old Trafford)
12 Oct: Poland (WC, Old Trafford)

(WC: World Cup qualifier; F: Friendly)

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