Neville comes to England's rescue

Euro 2004 qualifiers: Manchester United defender's fitness a relief to Eriksson as Campbell is ruled out of Slovakia opener

Sven Goran Eriksson last night reluctantly scrubbed another pair of boots from the manifest for England's flight to Bratislava this afternoon. Sol Campbell's kitbag, like that of Rio Ferdinand, will not be travelling to Slovakia for Saturday's European Championship qualifier. Gastroenteritis has debilitated the Arsenal defender, the attack severe enough to jeopardise his participation in Wednesday's follow-up tie against Macedonia.

With two of his foremost defenders absent it was with relief that Eriksson watched Gary Neville come through yesterday's training session at Bisham Abbey. The "other" metatarsal seemed to have healed as well as David Beckham's and, unlike the England captain, its owner has not been prematurely rushed back. Neville admitted he is not match-sharp but is fit enough to add his experience to England's depleted defence.

"I'm feeling good and I'm delighted to be here," he said. "A week ago I thought I was a million miles from this as I'd not played for such a long time. But my fitness was a pleasant surprise and so was [inclusion in] the squad. I'm fit for both games. If I had any doubts I wouldn't be here."

Danny Mills performed better than anticipated during the World Cup but Neville is likely to be recalled. The experience the Manchester United player offers is not just that gleaned from 52 international appearances. He can also provide a sense of perspective on England's progress as they seek to move from also-rans, to contenders, to winners.

Neville, who watched the World Cup as a television pundit, said of England's display: "I believe the heat beat them in the end, not the level of performance, or individual mistakes. The way we play it was one game too many in the heat. I've played in Asia. It's not much fun for a European. The players were putting so much into games, against Brazil they did not have enough left."

In March last year, before England played in Albania, Neville had praised the influx of young faces and argued the old guard from Euro 96 had "run out of steam". Yesterday he returned to the theme, pleased that Eriksson had maintained his youth policy and predicting it would bring reward.

"There have been great strides made from where we were 18 months ago in terms of the team, the performances and the youth and freshness in the squad. We now have two tournaments when we can be genuine contenders. Maybe the last World Cup was too early but everyone recognised that before we went.

"People ask if we had the belief to beat Brazil. I'm not concerned if we didn't. This is a really young team. When I first came into the Manchester United team in the Champions' League it took us a few years to realise we could beat Juventus. I hope with the experiences we've had, and those we'll gain over the next few years, next time [we are in a match like Brazil] we can go on and win.

"That came for us at United against Juventus in '99. We'd been absolutely battered by them in the past but eventually we grew up as a team and had the belief to beat them. That can happen with this team if everything keeps progressing as it has done."

The freshness and positivity Neville spoke about was exemplified by David Thompson, the Blackburn Rovers midfielder who quickly made it clear he was not surprised by his call-up. "There's been players before me who've had a chance. I didn't think they were any better than me," said Thompson. "I always felt I was good enough to play for England if I got the chance."

The words look boastful but in context the level-headed Thompson is not an arrogant man. He had no regrets about leaving Liverpool. His self-assurance stems from a dedication to his game, a background in youth and Under-21 international football and an unshakable belief in himself. As he said: "If you give up on yourself you may as well pack it in."

Thompson's combination of pragmatism and confidence is one England would do well to adopt. As he prepared to embark on his fourth qualifying campaign Gareth Southgate said: "There is enough quality in this country to be the best in the world but it is very early to be talking about that. We have to qualify first and we haven't always done that. Even when we have it has not always been straightforward."

In the absence of Campbell and Ferdinand, Southgate is expected to partner Ugo Ehiogu in central defence. It will be the first time since the 1950s that England have started a match with two Middlesbrough players. On the last occasion an 11-year-old Eriksson would doubtless have enjoyed Sweden's debut win at Wembley. This time he will be hoping for an English success.