Not for the first time in his five-and-a-half year reign as manager, Eriksson had captain David Beckham to thank for pulling victory out of the hat with a trademark curling free-kick at the Gottlieb Daimler Stadion.

But Beckham's 60th-minute strike could not disguise another ordinary performance by England that is unlikely to strike fear into the Portuguese ahead of Saturday's encounter in Gelsenkirchen.

Eriksson was unfazed by England's lacklustre display however, remaining convinced that the business end of the tournament will at last bring the best out of his mis-firing team.

"We all know that we can play better football but in the four games we've played we have played better and better and better, and the best is to come," said Eriksson. "I'm quite sure about it.

"It's strange but it's very good -- knowing that you can play better when you're already qualified for the quarter-final.

"I should be very concerned if we'd lost two or three games so far and we were out of the World Cup.

"But once again we are in a quarter-final, we are among the best eight teams in the world. Germany are there, Argentina are there, now we are there.

"So I'm not concerned. In fact I'm rather proud to be there along with those teams. We will do better this time than we did four years ago," he added, referring to England's 2002 exit at the same stage to Brazil.

Despite the bravado, Eriksson may well be tempted to go back to the drawing board after his new-look 4-1-4-1 formation fell some way short of being a triumphant tactical masterstroke.

The decision to play Michael Carrick as the holding player did not give England any greater security or creativity at the base of their midfield, and the Tottenham star looked unsure of himself for a large part of the match.

Owen Hargreaves, who had excelled in the position against Sweden and impressed yet again against Ecuador as a makeshift right back, looks the safer bet as England's midfield anchor man.

Eriksson however was understandably keen to accentuate the positives.

Most prominent among them was the performance of striker Wayne Rooney, who completed 90 minutes for the first time since returning from his six-week injury lay-off. Eriksson was also pleased with the overall fitness of his team in sultry conditions as the temperature nudged 30 degrees celsius.

"We showed today that our fitness level is rather good," Eriksson said. "We did well second half better than first.

"And if you're talking about a player like Rooney, he had his first 90 minutes in I don't know how many months, he will get better and better."

Rooney may well feel he has a point to prove against Portugal, who knocked England out of Euro 2004 in Lisbon two years ago at the quarter-final stage.

England were leading 1-0 when Rooney limped off with a foot injury, a development which allowed Portugal back into the match and eventually saw them prevail on penalties after the two teams completed extra-time locked at 2-2.

England also had what would have been a late winner disallowed on that occasion, part of a pattern of misfortune that Eriksson believes has cursed his team in their past two tournaments.

But after seeing Ecuador striker Carlos Tenorio hit the bar in the 11th minute following a defensive slip in Sunday's match -- the third time opponents have rattled England's woodwork during this World Cup -- Eriksson believes lady luck might be smiling on his team in Germany.

"It's about time we have luck in a big tournament," said Eriksson. "The two tournaments I have done with England we were not lucky at all."

Eriksson was also pleased to see Beckham get on the scoresheet and revealed he was unaware that his captain had been feeling unwell before the game. Beckham vomited on the pitch during the second half.

"I had no idea that David was not feeling very well," said Eriksson. "But in the second half we all saw it for ourselves when he was sick."

Beckham's goal will also have temporarily silenced the former internationals and pundits who have questioned his place in the team, criticism which continues to baffle Eriksson.

"I have stopped saying anything to the critics when it's about David Beckham," Eriksson said.

"I mean, he's maybe the best player from set pieces in the world and still he gets criticised."