England dare to believe the dream

Delight after the deluge as Brazil beckon and Eriksson's men move to within three matches of mission implausible

A monsoon rain fell on Niigata last night, washing England into the quarter-finals of the World Cup on a flood tide of optimism. Three more games to go, beginning with a possible clash against the Brazilians of Ronaldo and Rivaldo in Shizuoka on Friday.

No England player was prepared to admit the likelihood of Brazil, the four-times champions, beating Belgium tomorrow, but a meeting with the new favourites for this World Cup is an enticing prospect for the team and the growing army of fans who have turned this unpretentious west coast port into an English enclave over the past few days. Brazil and England rarely play matches in black and white.

A 3-0 victory over Denmark, who had completed the rout of France, the defending champions, in the group stages, was a flattering scoreline, as even Sven Goran Eriksson admitted. The Danes contributed to their own downfall with two defensive lapses, the first by Thomas Sorensen as early as the fourth minute, and England needed no further invitation to seal a place in the last eight for the first time since 1990.

"I'm happy England are among the best eight teams in the world," said Eriksson. "But to be among the best four would be even better." Sorensen's own goal, after a downward header by the ever impressive Rio Ferdinand, settled England's early nerves. Michael Owen scored his first goal of the tournament with a quick turn and shot from six yards midway through the first half, but the decisive goal came from Emile Heskey just before half-time. The Danes, unbeaten in 13 competitive matches, knew their tournament was over.

"I don't think we deserved to win 3-0, that was too much," admitted Eriksson. "But I think we deserved to win. In the second half, Denmark had a lot of the ball, but they didn't create many chances."

The only concern for England as they smothered the game in the second half was the injuries to Owen and Paul Scholes. Owen was replaced at half-time by Robbie Fowler and Kieron Dyer came on for Scholes. "Michael has a small groin problem," said Eriksson, "but I think he will be available for the next game." Scholes reportedly turned an ankle, but should also be ready to face Brazil or Belgium, who play in Kobe tomorrow.

"I thought we played some great football in the first half," said David Beckham, the England captain, whose own rehabilitation from a foot injury is almost complete despite his wincing gestures at the end of the game. "This is the first time I've worn studs in a game, so the foot is aching a bit, but nothing worse than that. Nothing can compare with the victory over Argentina, but as captain, I'm just very proud of the players. For a young team to perform the way we are is tremendous. I'm not bothered who we meet now, we're one game closer to winning the World Cup."

England now have five full days' rest before their quarter-final, two days more than their opponents and a potentially decisive advantage at this stage of a protracted tournament. "England have the quality to score goals and we didn't," said Morten Olsen, the Denmark coach. England are daring to dream.