Sven-Goran Eriksson's one regret as England manager before his death

The former Three Lions boss passed away last month after being diagnosed with terminal cancer

Sven-Goran Eriksson revealed his one regret from his time as England boss before his death last month.

The Swedish manager passed away on August 26 at the age of 76, surrounded by his family. Earlier this year, he announced that he had been diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer and had a year to live in a 'best case scenario'.

Tributes flooded in from across the football world following his death, with the Three Lions set to pay their respects to their former boss ahead of their UEFA Nations League clash against Finland at Wembley Stadium on Tuesday night.

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Eriksson, who also managed the likes of Manchester City, Roma, Lazio and the Ivory Coast during his 40-year coaching career, was the first non-British manager of the English national team and guided them to the knockout stages of two World Cups and a European Championship in his five years in charge.

He won 40 of his 67 games in charge of the Three Lions, drawing 17 and losing 10, with perhaps the most famous result coming in 2001 when his side beat Germany 5-1 on their own turf during World Cup qualification. His win percentage of 59.7 per cent is also the sixth highest of all England managers, with his record at major tournaments only bettered by Gareth Southgate since.

Back in 2019, Eriksson explained in an interview with the Guardian that he tried generally to live without regrets, but one did come to mind when reflecting on his time in charge of the Three Lions. That came in his final match in the England dugout, when his side were sent crashing out of the 2006 World Cup at the hands of Portugal.

A goalless draw meant the hotly contested quarter-final in Gelsenkirchen went to penalties, with captain David Beckham forced off injured shortly after half-time and Wayne Rooney then controversially sent off for a stamp on Ricardo Carvalho. While England still had experienced penalty takers like Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard on the field, they both missed their spot kicks, with Jamie Carragher also seeing his effort saved as they were eliminated from the tournament.

"I should have taken a mental coach for the penalty shootout," Eriksson admitted. "I thought we were experienced enough and we had players who were specialists in penalties. It is history now."

That match was the Swede's last in charge of England, having announced earlier in the year that he would quit following the World Cup. Reflecting on his exit the following year, he said: "'We should have done better, I am absolutely convinced of that [but] I don't feel like I'm a failure for what I did with England. No I don't feel like that."