The former England boss also spoke of the “most talented players” he has ever coached.
Sven-Goran Eriksen has revealed which current England player he would most like to have had in his “golden generation” squad of the early 2000s.
The Swedish football coach was appointed as the head coach of the England national team as early as 2001 and subsequently led the team to the World Cup twice and the European Cup quarter-finals once.
The 76-year-old, who coached David Beckham, Steven Gerrard and Wayne Rooney during his time as England manager, was diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer earlier this year and stars like John Terry.
Previously, in conjunction with Betway Insider Back in 2022, Eriksen revealed that former Manchester United midfielder Paul Scholes was the “most talented player” he had ever coached.
He said: “You can pick out a lot of great players from my era. Rooney, Beckham, Leo, John Terry, Owen in his prime.
“But Scholes is a playmaker, a finisher – he's not the best in the world defensively but he can do it. He's a fantastic footballer.”
Channel 4 Sport released a touching clip earlier this week of Eriksen watching video messages of support from some of his “golden generation” prodigies.
Joe Cole, Paul Scholes, Michael Owen, Steven Gerrard, Gary Neville and Owen Hargreaves have all expressed their condolences over the former manager's medical condition.
Speaking to BoyleSports, Eriksen was asked which of the current England stars would make the cut for his prolific side of two decades ago.
“It's easy, Harry Kane,” he said.
“He is a golden goalscorer and you always need that wherever he plays.
“He's not just a goalscorer, he's a goal player, he can assist, he's tall, he's got a good header, he's got good footwork, he's strong, he's not the fastest player in the world, but he's very fast. quick.”
He added: “Every team needs players like this. This is just one of them, he is special. I like him and I think he will become one of the most important players in England.”
The former Manchester City boss also revealed his toughest opponent during his time in England.
The best team we faced was Brazil in 2002,” he said.
“Even if they were one player behind, with 10 men against us with 11, we couldn't steal the ball from them. Technically they were very good and you could have chosen any player, like Ronaldinho who scored the goal .
“They won the World Cup, they beat us and I have nothing to say about that because they deserved to beat us and they deserved to win the World Cup.”
England take on Brazil in a friendly match at Wembley Stadium tonight, in which some of the country's most exciting young talents will make their debuts.
Manchester United's Kobe Minu, Everton's Jarrad Branthwaite and Newcastle United's Anthony Gordon were all called up earlier this week.
Eriksen, on the other hand, will fulfill a childhood dream later this afternoon when he leads Liverpool Legends in a charity match at home to Ajax Legends.
Eriksen said at yesterday's pre-match press conference: “When I was a manager I always dreamed of Liverpool but it never happened.
“It was close at one point, there were some discussions many years ago… but it never happened. But now it has. When they asked, I thought it was a joke. I said sure, and then there's charity, which It's even cuter.
“'You'll Never Walk Alone' is magical. I'm looking forward to it.”
The match kicks off at Anfield at 3pm.
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