Sven-Goran Eriksson: tactical genius (sort of)

What a time for Sven-Goran Eriksson to get things right at a World Cup. After two distinctly mediocre attempts with England in 2002 and 2006, it appears the Swedish coach has finally found a country with resources suited to his conservative style of football.

Sven has had very little time to work with his new Ivory Coast team since his appointment at the end of March, but the Elephants are already showing massive signs of improvement since their bitterly disappointing African Nations' Cup showing in January.

On Tuesday afternoon they nullified Portugal's formidable attacking threat with an accomplished defensive display built around an industrious central midfield trio of Emmanuel Eboue, Cheick Tiote and the commanding Yaya Toure. The two holding Portuguese midfielders, Pedro Mendes and Raul Meireles, were outnumbered and outclassed at their own game, while offensive midfielders Deco, Danny and former World Player of the Year Cristiano Ronaldo were given little or no space in which to manoeuvre.

The Ivory Coast defended in their own half and did not go chasing the ball in the opponents third of the pitch, which by sheer weight of numbers served to condense their own defensive third into an unplayable battle ground of tight spaces. The formation was, in generic terms, a 4-5-1 with Gervinho leading the line in a lone striker position in the absence of Didier Drogba, and Salomon Kalou and Aruna Dindane occupying the wide roles. If we break it down further, Sven's shape actually resembled a 4-3-2-1 set up, with three defensive midfielders proving to be the crucial component of the West African model.

The attacking corollary of this formation was that the Ivory Coast's own chances in front of goal were quite minimal, but on the balance of play they certainly got the better of Carlos Queiroz's frustrated Portugal team. It was a lot to ask of young Lille forward Gervinho to chase down long balls and try to hold up possession for a midfield that was always going to be late to arrive down the centre to provide attacking support. This is exactly the role in which Didier Drogba thrives, however, and his completion of a second half cameo without any concerns about his broken arm was an important boost for Sven-Goran Eriksson. The Chelsea hitman could prove to be the difference against the stubborn defences the Africans are yet to face.

If we assume now, and it is a big assumption to make, that Portugal and the Ivory Coast get a similar result against Group G favourites Brazil, qualifying second in the table could come down to which side can score more goals against a defensively orientated North Korea outfit. Beating the obscure Asian underdogs is not going to be an easy task if their 2-1 defeat to Brazil is anything to go by. Outscoring Portugal may be complicated for Sven's more attritional team but if it comes down to it, they deserve to progress on a head to head basis ahead of their European rivals.

Without exaggerating Mr Eriksson's new found tactical ingenuity, all this does beg the question: why has he suddenly got it right on the international stage after under-performing at the helm of England's golden generation and, more recently, overseeing a disastrous spell as Mexico manager?

Not to detract from the Swedish manager's achievements, but I think circumstance plays a significant part in his latest successes and failures. Sven built his reputation in the eighties and nineties in Sweden - and later in Portugal and Italy - as an astute, conservative coach who, like Jose Mourinho in recent seasons, found success with a cautious tactical approach. He really came to prominence with Lazio between 1997 and 2001, during which time he led the Rome-based team to its most successful period in the club's history, winning seven major titles in a four year spell including the Scudetto in 2000.

Lazio's success in the title winning season owed a lot to what was at the time the world's most expensive strike partnership in Marcelo Salas and Christian Vieri. In the engine room of that team, however, were three central midfielders in Dejan Stankovic, Diego Simeone and Juan Sebastian Veron who stoked the fires.

 Fast forward ten years and Sven-Goran Eriksson once again finds himself with an array of defensive midfield talent at the Ivory Coast. With Barcelona's Yaya Toure, Sevilla pair Didier Zokora and Romaric, Twente's Cheick Tiote and Emmanuel Kone of International, there is an embarrassment of riches in arguably the most complete African team of all time. Simply by picking the team's best players, the Swedish manager is forced to load the centre of the pitch with defensive stalwarts.

Back in his time with England, selecting the most talented individuals in central midfield meant choosing the attacking partnership of Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard. To his credit, Sven experimented with Owen Hargreaves, Nicky Butt and Phil Neville in holding roles but those changes were met with wide spread criticism accusing the Swede of failing to get Lampard and Gerrard, two world-beaters at club level, to gel.

Needless to say at Mexico, where small skilful attacking players are in the majority, Sven had similar difficulties creating a dominant midfield which fitted his managerial style.

At the Ivory Coast, however, that is hardly a problem. If the Elephants progress to the latter stages of this tournament, and I certainly hope that they will, Yaya Toure could be the star man to emerge out of Didier Drogba's shadow. Standing in their way at the moment are North Korea and the other great exponents of the defensive midfield game, namely Dunga's Brazil.

After the inevitable recriminations and fall-out that will follow England's exit from the World Cup, perhaps whoever is in charge will finally realise that big names do not win trophies. That is wishful thinking, of course. As is hoping that Owen Hargreaves, Michael Carrick and Phil Neville will lead England into the Euro 2012 qualifying campaign at the centre of a 4-3-2-1 formation. Okay, maybe that's going a bit far.