MICHAEL OWEN and Sven Goran Eriksson last night dared utter the words England fans never dreamt they'd hear: We can win the World Cup.
England hero Owen, fresh from winning the penalty that destroyed Argentina, spoke exclusively to the News of the World and roared: "We have beaten one of the favourites and no one can say we didn't deserve it.
"Argentina are a very good side and quite rightly were fancied to go a long way. So why shouldn't we?"
And manager Eriksson, still savouring his brave Lions' heroic 1-0 victory, insisted: "I have always been very positive and I have always believed. Now anything is possible — you never know.
"Yes, we should have respect for all teams but if we play football as we can we should not be afraid of anyone. If we play as we have done many times before, like against Argentina and in our qualification, then this is a very good team."
Owen and Eriksson were speaking as the scale of Friday's historic win was starting to sink in. England now need only a draw against Nigeria to be certain of winning a place in the second round.
Eriksson added: "To beat Germany and Argentina — they are all very good victories. It is not easy going to Germany and winning.
"It's not easy beating Argentina in the World Cup when they are among the favourites. But that's what we have done so, yes, anything is possible. The games are coming fast and they will be tight.
"All the teams are getting tired but I think we are prepared — I certainly hope so."
But alongside his buoyant air of confidence there are also words of warning over the Group F decider with Nigeria on Wednesday.
Eriksson said: "It is an extremely good victory against Argentina but to beat Argentina and still go home on June 13 would be extremely sad and extremely stupid. Until we can beat or draw with Nigeria we are not through.
"After a rest we will be focusing on the Nigerians and treat them with respect."
For the first time in this tournament, England will have to contend with the searing mid-afternoon heat and suffocating humidity when they play Nigeria.
But Owen said: "We are confident we can deal with it. I have played in hot climates before and we have been fortunate to have the best possible preparation to handle whatever conditions we come up against."
England's heroes were allowed to celebrate their famous victory with a glass of wine and dinner with friends and family. Eriksson relaxed the rules to allow his players to savour their triumph.
Eriksson said: "I said they could have a glass of wine. It was a way of relaxing after the game but it was nothing too special-it was not a big party, not at all."
Now you're gonna believe me - we're gonna win the cup
RIO Ferdinand has never wavered once. He's said all along that England could win the World Cup.
And now you're gonna believe him!
The unforgettable victory over World Cup favourites Argentina has turned the prospect of repeating 1966 from a wild pipe dream into a real possibility.
Even those who thought it a ridiculous idea are now reconsidering and saying: "Hey, you never know."
Ferdinand, just 23 but with 24 caps already to his name, has never subscribed to the "let's just make up the numbers" philosophy.
The Leeds star says England are here to win and fear no-one.
Ferdinand said: "We want to beat everyone we play against. We are a young squad and it is definitely a squad without fear.
"We don't look at ourselves as any less than anyone else so the confidence is certainly there.
"We know that other countries have more experienced players than us. But if we play as well as we can we are as good as anyone. And that means we have as good a chance as any other team.
"Against Argentina we not only got the right result but we played some good football too.
"And if we all keep pulling together then the country has a good chance of winning something."
Ferdinand relished the chance to pit his skills against those of the much-fancied Argentinians.
And he savoured coming out on top.
He added: "You dream about playing in games like that against the best players in the world.
"The bigger the game the better you want to play and we have done that. We have won against one of the favourites for the World Cup.
"It definitely enhances your reputation as a player if you play in these big games under great pressure. It was a real thrill."
And Ferdinand is in the mood to milk every minute of beating the South Americans. He said: "We have got to enjoy this moment. It has been four years ... a lot of the younger players weren't around at France '98.
"But you could tell as we came off the pitch what it meant to the senior players who actually played in that game.
"Everyone was enjoying themselves but it was not getting out of hand.
"We have not qualified yet. We have to make sure we get the right result against Nigeria.
"But we will focus on Nigeria tomorrow — today we are just going to soak it all up."
But amid all the celebrations there is the realisation that victory was reward for five days of hard work and preparation for this Group F showdown.
That was certainly necessary after the shambolic showing in the second half against Sweden which almost cost England dear.
Sven Goran Eriksson worked relentlessly with the players, drumming home the importance of team discipline, shape and concentration.
And it paid off in style.
Ferdinand explained: "It was drilled into us to keep our shape and work together as a team rather than individuals.
"It was all about the organisation of the team and keeping ourselves together and we did that really well against Argentina.
"The last 20 minutes were definitely hard, a lot of the boys were tired, but we still remained hard to break down."
The fatigue factor was always a worry especially with skipper David Beckham and Nicky Butt both fresh from injury.
But Ferdinand reckons the United players and Newcastle's Kieron Dyer are getting stronger every day to further boost England's chances.
He said: "Becks got 90 minutes under his belt and Butty played like he'd never been injured.
"The more training sessions and games they get in, the better they are going to be.
"We're all together as a squad, everyone has their role to play and if we want to win something we have to remain as one.
"That's exactly how we are right now, probably because a lot of the players in there have grown up together and come up through the youth team and under-21s.
"Most importantly we all come from a winning mentality and we all want to win something."
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