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| ENGLAND Having scraped through the qualifying phase with a 2-1 aggregate victory over Scotland it would seem England should be considered as outsiders to lift the trophy. This is especially true when the chronic lack of left-sided players in the squad is taken into account. Perhaps, however, all is not as it seems. The draw has been fairly kind to England with none of the three opponents expected to go far in the tournament. Germany are weak, weaker than they have been for sometime and this time have a real chance to avenge previous European Championship and World Cup defeats. Portugal and Romania are unproven, they arrive from the same qualifying group where they took advantage of the lack of quality to lose just one game between them, when Romania went to Portugal and won 1-0. Added to this relatively favourable draw are a number of good signs regarding the fitness and form of some key players. Defensive lynchpin Tony Adams is as fit as he has been for some time and should find himself at the heart of England's rearguard. A particular bonus comes in the form of Steve McManaman, in great form for Real Madrid, who have reached the Champions League final in part due to the Liverpudlian's improved and more controlled style of play. Although Michael Owen and Robbie Fowler have both suffered injury plagued seasons at Liverpool, Sunderland striker Kevin Phillips has blossomed and there is no reason to believe he won't be given a chance to shine in pre-tournament friendlies after his 30 goal debut season in the Premier League. Despite the fact that Chelsea's Graeme LeSaux is left footed, his absence from Keegan's provisional 28 man squad has supporters up and down the country rejoicing - this due to the fact that most fans don't rate him at all. Keegan has several decisions still to make about his starting eleven. It is assumed that David Seaman will retain the number one jersey despite struggling this season and being outperformed by Leeds United's Nigel Martyn. Past this, nobody is quite sure whether Keegan will go 4-4-2 or 3-5-2. Adams, if he retains his fitness, will play. Keown and Campbell are the other centre-backs expecting a place though one will drop to the bench if Keegan opts for a 4-4-2 formation. Another option is to drop the recently unimpressive Gary Neville to the bench and use Campbell as an orthodox right back as was the case in the playoff against Scotland. In midfield so many questions demand an answer- but does Keegan know the answers? Beckham plays. Whether it's on the right of a four, as a wingback, or in the middle is uncertain - but he plays. Joining him is likely to be his Manchester United teammate Paul Scholes who fills a central midfield role. In the absence of David Batty there could be a spot available for a ballwinner. Paul Ince, Dennis Wise and Steven Gerrard will fight for this position with Gerrard my preferred choice but Keegan may go for one of the more experienced options. Phil Neville and Jason Wilcox will be hoping to appear on the left, both can play either defence or midfield, which makes it interesting. McManaman should book a place in the starting line up but this is far from being a formality. Up front Shearer is still not sure who he will play with, but it is unlikely to be Andy Cole. The Liverpool trio of Heskey, Fowler and Owen are all well liked by the England coach but Phillips could still force his way into the team. Whatever team Keegan picks it seems that at least one player will be out of position be it Campbell, Beckham or McManaman. Whoever takes the field for England should be good enough to take them out of the group stages but beyond that few England fans are confident due to the manner in which they qualified, unable to beat a competent Sweden and losing at Wembley to the Jocks. KEY MEN Tony Adams - The inspirational Arsenal skipper has never been known to let England down and the country will be hoping he's not about to start now. Despite never playing in a World Cup Adams has bucketloads of experience and is regarded by many as the man who should be England's captain. David Beckham - Now firmly established as England's golden boy it is important he supplies the crosses for Alan Shearer and even more important that he doesn't repeat his antics from the Argentina game in 1998. His prowess from set pieces could also provide vital goals in England's challenge. Alan Shearer - The skipper is a key figure in any team, especially when he also happens to be his country's leading striker. His goal to game ratio is impressive and he won't be phased by the big occasion as he demonstrated in Euro '96 by finishing as top scorer. He has vowed to retire from international football after the tournament which will give him any extra motivation he wants. Jonathan Agnew ihatebigfatseaman@hotmail.com |