Defoe must wait as squad looks settled

Now the waiting begins for Sven Goran Eriksson. Every time the England coach watches one of his key players go into a tackle, and fail to get up immediately, his mind will go back to the spring of 2002, Aldo Pedro Duscher's tackle on David Beckham at Old Trafford, and the broken metatarsal.

Now the waiting begins for Sven Goran Eriksson. Every time the England coach watches one of his key players go into a tackle, and fail to get up immediately, his mind will go back to the spring of 2002, Aldo Pedro Duscher's tackle on David Beckham at Old Trafford, and the broken metatarsal.

Eriksson knows he has the players to make an impact at Euro 2004, but not so many of them that he can afford to field an understrength team. He has already lost one leading figure, Rio Ferdinand, and is worried that Arsenal will book his other first-choice centre-half, Sol Campbell, in for a groin operation. Losing this pair may prove terminal to England's Portuguese ambitions in itself; losing anyone else would likely condemn the team to another premature departure.

Two years ago, Eriksson lost four players before the beginning of the World Cup: Gary Neville, Steven Gerrard, Danny Murphy (himself a replacement for Gerrard) and Jamie Carragher. In addition Beckham suffered the injury which would hamper him throughout the tournament. The beneficiaries were Danny Mills, who played every match, Nicky Butt, who took over Gerrard's holding role, and especially Trevor Sinclair, who was catapulted into the squad and then, after Owen Hargreaves was injured, the team.

Thus Jermain Defoe ought not to be too disappointed when he hears that, despite his sparkling performance for England in Sweden on Wednesday night, he has not booked himself a ticket to Portugal. Eriksson intends to take only four strikers and Michael Owen, Wayne Rooney, Emile Heskey and Darius Vassell remain the chosen quartet. Defoe, said Eriksson yesterday, "is one for the future".

"He did very well. He is technically good, very quick and you can feel that he always looks where the goal is," Eriksson said of the 21-year-old debutant. "That's important. He could be one for the immediate future but that depends on the other strikers, on injuries and form."

What Defoe has achieved is to edge ahead of Alan Smith as the stand-by striker. Only if Heskey is injured will Smith, with his superior back-to-goal ability, be chosen instead. Since forwards are particularly prone to injury, as the twisted ankle suffered by Vassell on Wednesday indicated, this could prove more than just a consolation.

Eriksson, incidentally, reaffirmed his faith in Heskey despite his fitful form. "He is always very useful because he is physically strong and he wins the ball up there," Eriksson said. "I know Heskey hasn't scored many goals for England but he has been important in many games for us."

Eriksson intends to take two players for every place and, with a few exceptions, already knows his preferred starting XI and squad. The team is settled except for the identity of Campbell's partner. John Terry is marginally ahead of Jonathan Woodgate at present.

The squad questions are, who will be reserve right-back, who will be the eighth midfielder, and will Chris Kirkland be fit to travel as third goalkeeper?

One seat to Portugal was filled on Wednesday, by Hargreaves. Always likely to go, he confirmed his place with another mature performance. Eriksson, initially unhappy with his reluctance to go past his man, was impressed by the way he took orders to do so on board. His adaptability, said Eriksson, also made him a candidate to understudy Butt in the holding role.

This could result in further heartbreak for Phil Neville, who was omitted from both the 1998 and 2002 World Cups. The Manchester United player was given the opportunity to prove he should cover his brother, instead of Mills, but failed to take it.

Neville's second string is as a sitting midfielder but Mills can provide cover in central defence, which could be decisive if Campbell travels with an injury. For the World Cup, Eriksson took a fifth centre-half, but ultimately played only two.

The threat provided by Neville's left-wing opponent, Christian Wilhelmsson, showed what Alan Thompson, another triallist, lacked. "He did OK," was Eriksson's verdict. In Swede-speak that means "Thank you and goodbye".

Joe Cole was no better when he replaced Thompson but his potential, and ability to see unexpected angles, should earn him the final squad place in front of Jermaine Jenas.

So, barring injury, neither Defoe nor Ledley King, the star of England's previous friendly in Portugal, will be selected. One might thus question the value of these matches and wonder whether Eriksson would be better served by get-togethers. But Defoe and King will hope to build on the experience, as did Frank Lampard, a fringe player before 2002. Should they be summoned to Portugal, these outings will be invaluable.

There is also the question of finance. The FA earns well from friendlies, home and away, and they have the manager's pay rise to meet.

BUILD-UP TO EURO 2004

PROBABLE ENGLAND SQUAD: James, Robinson, Kirkland (or Walker); G Neville, Mills, Bridge, A Cole; Campbell, Terry, Woodgate, Southgate; Beckham, Gerrard, Scholes, Butt, Hargreaves, Lampard, Dyer, J Cole; Owen, Rooney, Heskey, Vassell. Stand-by: P Neville, King, Jenas, Defoe.

TIMETABLE: 17 May: Eriksson names 23-man squad. 23-29 May: Squad and families travel to Sardinia. 1 June: England v Japan ( City of Manchester Stadium). 2 June: Deadline for confirmation of squad to Uefa. 5 June: England v Iceland ( City of Manchester Stadium). 7 June: England travel to Lisbon. 13 June: England open Euro 2004 campaign v France ( Lisbon).