A RELIEVED Sven-Goran Eriksson last night paid tribute to captain fantastic Michael Owen for keeping England in the driving seat to qualify for Euro 2004.

Following Turkey's 3-2 win over Macedonia earlier in the evening, three points was a necessity at the Riverside.

And the England coach, whose side are now two points behind the Group Seven leaders with a game in hand, knows how crucial Owen's double strike could prove in the run-in.

The Liverpool striker was tipped earlier in the week by Anfield teammate Steve Gerrard to break all records on the international stage.

And now Owen has scored 22 goals in 50 appearances for his country and Eriksson could not hide his admiration for the 23-year-old.

"I must say that you are very spoilt in this country to have Michael Owen," said Eriksson. "I am very happy for Michael because it was a good way to celebrate being captain and get his 50th cap.

"He is an extremely gifted man. He was very good tonight and I can't say any more than that."

Owen's first goal, the equaliser, came from the spot after he was bundled over in the box by defender Marian Zeman.

Slovakia boss Ladislav Jurkemik was annoyed with the decision made by German referee Wolfgang Stark.

And Jurkemik fumed: "The penalty put England back on their feet. It was not a good decision. I thought it was a mistake by the referee and it was not a penalty.

"Owen played to the situation and the referee bought it."

And Eriksson admitted: "I don't know what happened on the penalty, it happened so quickly. But what I do know is that I thought it was a push on Southgate not long after and we should have had another one.

"But that's football. You can't expect referees to get everything 100 per cent."

Middlesbrough defender Gareth Southgate, playing on his home Riverside turf, agreed he said: "It did not look like a penalty from where I was, but I thought we should have had another one shortly after."

Meanwhile, Eriksson defended Everton wonder-kid Wayne Rooney after a disappointing performance on Teesside last night.

The youngster was replaced by Aston Villa's Darius Vassell on 57 minutes after struggling to make an impact in the final third.

But Eriksson warned the public not to expect too much from Rooney, he said: "I am happy with Wayne Rooney. The danger is that we all expect the best from Wayne Rooney every time he goes out on to a pitch for England and that's not fair.

"He is only 17 and he is still learning. But he is a fantstic talent and I am happy Wayne Rooney is English."

* Turkey came from behind twice at home to FYR Macedonia in Istanbul.

The Macedonians had gone ahead twice in a thrilling match with Aco Stoikov and Artim Sakiri sandwiching Nihat Kahveci's blockbuster for a half-time advantage.

But the second half belonged to the hosts with Gokdeniz Karadeniz and Hakan Sukur turning the match on its head after the break.

World Cup hero Miroslav Klose and Fredi Bobic spared Germany's blushes with late goals to seal a 2-0 victory over Group Five minnows the Faroe Islands and keep their hopes of reaching the Euro 2004 finals firmly on track.

Klose headed home an Oliver Neuville cross a minute from full time after entering the fray as a second half substitute.

And Bobic netted from close range two minutes into injury time to put Germany back on top of the group.