Swede Sven Goran Eriksson is the toast of England after leading the English national team past Germany, 5-1, in their European World Cup qualifier in Munich. Michael Owen’s hat trick paced England, which gained revenge for the 1-0 loss at Wembley Stadium last year that prompted Kevin Keegan to quit as English coach. Eriksson replaced him soon thereafter. England can take over first place in Group 9 with a win over Albania Wednesday. Poland clinched the Group 5 title to become the first European team besides defending champion France to clinch a berth in next year’s World Cup. Italy failed in its bid to clinch Group 8 when it tied Lithuania, 0-0, but the Azzurri can still clinch Wednesday unless Romania wins at Hungary. Spain can clinch Group 7 Wednesday with a win at Liechtenstein. Ireland eliminated the Netherlands from the World Cup with a 1-0 in Dublin. The Dutch have no chance of catching Ireland or Portugal in Group 2. Other big results: Slovenia’s 2-1 win over Russia moved it within one point of the Russians in Group 1; Bulgaria’s 2-0 victory at Malta propelled it into first place in Group 3; Sweden (2-1 winner at Macedonia) stayed two points ahead of Turkey (1-0 winner at Slovakia) in Group 4. Scotland’s hopes dimmed when it only managed to tie Croatia, 0-0, in Group 6.