Gary Neville is poised to return to the England side for the World Cup quarter-final against Portugal on Saturday.

The Manchester United ace has been sidelined since the opening game win over Paraguay, but is making good progress in his battle to overcome a calf problem.

England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson confirmed: "It is very good, he did everything today and didn't feel anything after training, so I think he will be okay for Saturday, but we have practice tomorrow and Friday.

"If we think it is a risk he will not play, but as it stands today I don't think it is a risk."

Meanwhile, Eriksson remains bullish about England's prospects of glory in Germany, despite below-par performances to date.

He told Sky Sports News: "I strongly believe we will win, I've always believed that.

"I don't care about that (the criticism) and we have a good chance to reach the semi-final, so that is what matters.

"You like to play good football but the most important thing is to win or you are on the plane home.

"You haven't seen the best of us yet, hopefully it will come on Saturday. It's important to try to play good football, but the most important thing is to win games."