Sven-Goran Eriksson believes Azerbaijan's 8-0 defeat by Poland was a freak result that his England side will not be trying to match in today's World Cup qualifier.

England beat Northern Ireland 4-0 on Saturday to stay top of Group Six, while Poland's demolition of the Azeris kept them a point behind with a far better goal difference.

Unhappy with the newspaper euphoria over how many goals England might score in Newcastle, the England manager told reporters yesterday: "I didn't like what I saw this morning.

"I spent 15 years in Italy and the Italians say that talking about how many you're going to score in your next match always brings bad luck.

"Azerbaijan's game on Saturday was unreal. Everything went well for Poland - every time they got the ball in the box they scored.

"I don't think Azerbaijan are as bad as that result showed."

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