England line up Dutch friendly at Villa Park

England will play the Netherlands at Villa Park on 9 February - the third time they have played the Dutch in a friendly during Sven Goran Eriksson's reign, and the third time Villa Park has hosted an England match while Wembley is being re-built.

England will play the Netherlands at Villa Park on 9 February - the third time they have played the Dutch in a friendly during Sven Goran Eriksson's reign, and the third time Villa Park has hosted an England match while Wembley is being re-built.

Eriksson's team will line up against the side now managed by Marco van Basten having failed to beat them in their previous two attempts. Eriksson said: "As a coach, I have had to prepare my teams to contend with Van Basten the player - so it will be interesting preparing a team selected by Van Basten the coach."

England will also play the Netherlands under a reciprocal agreement in Amsterdam on 15 November 2006.

The race to become the new chief executive of the Football Association has come down to a three-way contest - with Brian Barwick, ITV's controller of sport, understood to be in pole position. Barwick is one of the three people who have been selected for a final interview with the FA Board on 25 November.

The ITV executive is thought to have the early advantage because neither of his two rivals - one of whom is Richard Bowker, the former chairman of the Strategic Rail Authority - has his experience of football.

Barwick, 50, was previously head of sport at the BBC and is well known in the game as a strong character and first-class man-manager.

Uefa, European football's governing body, said yesterday it would use television coverage to punish players using simulation to deceive referees. Peter Limacher, Uefa's disciplinary services manager, said. "If TV or other evidence comes to light, we will take action against simulation by instigating proceedings with a formal charge of gross unsporting conduct."