THE SIGHT of Sven-Goran Eriksson walking alone to the centre circle to receive the cheers of the crowd is not something normally associated with the introverted Swede.
But, after taking charge of his final England game on home soil and receiving a warm reception from the fans inside Old Trafford, Eriksson has predicted he will be doing an awful lot more than that if his side lift the World Cup in a little over a month's time.
Appropriately, his own rendition of Peter Crouch's robotic dance will be the first thing he does. Leaving such a legacy behind would be the perfect ending to five years in the job and Eriksson is convinced such an achievement is within his grasp.
It was his captain's idea to wave goodbye to the crowd after the easy victory over Jamaica and, having been touched by the moment, England's head coach is desperate to deliver the most coveted parting gift of all.
"It was a very good farewell and I enjoyed it very much. This was a memory I will have for life," said Eriksson, who will fly out with the England party to their Baden Baden base this afternoon ahead of Saturday's Group B opener with Paraguay.
"Will I do Peter's dance if we it? If we win the World Cup I will do whatever you want me to do."
With the exception of having to deal with the hysteria surrounding whether or not Wayne Rooney's metatarsal is going to recover in time, the couple of weeks preparation could not have gone any better.
The ease of the six goal rout of Jamaica is unlikely to be repeated in Germany - particularly in the latter stages of thr tournament - but it will have done confidence in the camp the power of good.
It could be argued a team embittered by internal wrangling and consisting of nothing more than lower league footballers is not a strong enough test ahead of such an important tournament.
But a goal and 90 minutes from Michael Owen, a hat-trick from Crouch and further encouraging signs from David Beckham's right boot have captured the imagination with or without Rooney.
There is no disguising the fact the Manchester United striker's absence will rob England of a world-class and unpredictable talent if Wednesday's make-or-break scan at his club rules him out of the finals.
But even without Rooney there is still plenty to get excited about.
"I don't want to talk about if Wayne doesn't go. I want to talk about when he does," said Eriksson, who will take Jermain Defoe on today's flight in case Rooney misses out. "If he doesn't come then that's a problem for Wednesday.
"Everything is more or less perfect as we head towards Germany and that's all I want to think about. The spirit is fantastic. We are ready for the World Cup."
Ever since Rooney broke his metatarsal against Chelsea last month there has been much deliberation as to what Eriksson will do if he doesn't make it. Crouch, after scoring five in his last three senior internationals, has forced his head coach's hand.
Steven Gerrard will play as the holding man in a midfield quartet, leaving the gangly giant to forge a strike partnership with Owen for the first two group games at least.
"Peter Crouch has shown me all the way along that he deserves to play in the World Cup. He is so special, not just because he is tall but because he has good feet as well," said Eriksson.
"Every time he has played for England. Whether he starts or comes off the bench, he plays well."
The decision to start with Crouch against Paraguay was made despite the coaching staff's annoyance at the cocky way he took a penalty when he had already scored two.
He had earlier played a part in Frank Lampard's opener when his knock down was turned into the Chelsea midfielder's path by Owen. And, after Jamaica's Jermaine Taylor headed a Beckham free-kick past goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts, Crouch got his name on the scoresheet just before the half hour.
His met another Beckham centre and the hopeless Omar Daley's attempted clearance only helped the ball over the line.
Three minutes later Gerrard's clever through ball allowed Owen, onside because of Daley's lapse in concentration, to nip around stranded keeper Ricketts before slotting into an empty net.
Owen's first goal of 2006 and a timely reminder of what he is capable of. With 23 minutes remaining Crouch claimed his second. This time he tapped in from inches out after meeting Liverpool team-mate Jamie Carragher's centre, after a cleverly timed pass from Beckham allowed right-back Carragher to emerge on the overlap.
But, despite grabbing the goal of the game in the last minute when he side-footed Owen's lay-off into Ricketts' bottom left corner from the edge of the area, it was the fact he had missed a spot-kick which rankled with Eriksson.
Lampard allowed Crouch the chance to take a penalty and, with a touch of arrogance, he embarrassingly tried to dink the ball into the net and instead it flew five yards over.
One of the worst penalties ever witnessed in an international and that could have stopped him from becoming the first England player to score a hat-trick - other than Owen's last summer against Colombia - since Alan Shearer versus Luxembourg in 1999.
"Maybe Peter got carried away but it's important to get him down to earth quickly. He was fantastic on Saturday but to take the penalty like he did was wrong and he knows that. He missed a golden opportunity to practise penalties," said Eriksson, whose side have now missed four out of their last five from the spot.
It may have been Crouch who stole the show and won the hearts of supporters but Beckham's influence was immense. He was struggling for fitness four years ago in Japan and South Korea but he is performing at his peak ahead of the Germany finals, highlighted by his involvement in half of England's goals on Saturday - something, Eriksson believes, which could guide England to glory.
"It will make a very big difference to have David fully fit. He has been Real Madrid's best player this season and that's great to know," said Eriksson.
"We have the best deliverer of free-kicks and corner kicks in the world. "If you ask the other coaches at the World Cup, the other 31, they have a lot of respect for England. With Rooney or without him there is still enormous respect for England up front.
"I have a lot of respect for teams like Argentina and Brazil but they also have a lot of respect for us."
And that would grow even further if England were to be crowned champions of the world.
Result: England 6, Jamaica 0.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article