Barry stepping down to aid Under-21 side

Gareth Barry will drop back into the England Under-21 team for their European Championship qualifier against Slovakia at Sunderland tonight.

The Aston Villa player has been part of the full national squad for the friendlies against South Africa and Serbia and Montenegro but will not be considered for the senior team's Euro 2004 qualifier against Slovakia tomorrow.

The England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson said: "Having taken the decision that Gareth was not going to play for the seniors, I felt it was in his and our best interests for him to go and play an important role for the Under-21s.

"They have a very important game and it will be more good experience for Gareth. I have spoken to him and he understands the situation. He has done very well for us since he joined the squad before the South Africa game."

The 22-year-old, who can play in the centre and left-side of defence as well as midfield, has captained the Under-21 side in the past after winning his first senior cap in a friendly against Ukraine in 2000.

Elsewhere, the Republic of Ireland Under-21s are facing punishment from Uefa after fielding an ineligible player in Friday's 2-1 win over Albania.

The Celtic midfielder Liam Miller, the Under-21 captain, should not have played after having received two yellow cards during the European Championship qualifying campaign. However, the two cautions were not spotted and Miller led the side to victory. Uefa, the European game's governing body, could now strip the Irish of the points from the game.

Miller was booked in the game at home to Switzerland back in October and in Albania in April. In normal circumstances, Uefa would fax the Football Association of Ireland and follow that up with written communication as to the player's availability. "This has been missed by everyone and we are just checking the facts at the moment," the Under-21 manager Don Givens said.