Eriksson: Unreal atmosphere won't affect players

Sven-Goran Eriksson is convinced his players will cope with an unreal atmosphere in the 18,000-capacity City Stadium where England play Macedonia on Saturday.

Because of the fear of hooligans risking participation in the 2004 European finals, the England team will have no support in the stadium but Eriksson said: "It's better not to have fans at the next two away games. Football should be a nice party, not a security problem. If you have to make a choice, security is always more important than football. I think it's very unusual because England always have a lot of support wherever they play.

"It's a new situation and hopefully the players will not feel it too much."

A similar exercise will be repeated in Istanbul next month when England meet Turkey in their final qualifying game.