Eriksson contemplates the unthinkable: Dropping Owen

By George Burns Jun 18, 2006, 13:57 GMT

England forwards Wayne Rooney (R) and Michael Owen (L) during the England team training session in Nuremberg, Germany, Wednesday, 14 June 2006. EPA/GEORGI LICOVSKI

Baden-Baden - Sven-Goran Eriksson heads into Tuesday's match against Sweden facing one of his toughest decisions since becoming England coach five-and-a-half years ago.

Since taking over the England post in January 2001, Eriksson has never started a competitive match with a fit Michael Owen on the bench but it seems the Swede is slowly losing patience with his mis- firing striker, especially as pressure from the English footballing public grows for a performance they can be proud of.

England needed an own goal from Carlos Gamarra to secure a 1-0 win over a poor Paraguay side in their opening game in Group B and took over 80 minutes to break down a limited Trinidad & Tobago team before eventually prevailing 2-0.

Argentina's 6-0 demolition of Serbia & Montenegro seems to have focused English minds on the standards required to win this World Cup, especially as a defeat against Sweden would most likely see the pair meet at the quarter-final stages.

England have failed to beat Sweden since May 1968 and midfielder Steven Gerrard acknowledged that 38 years was a long time between victories.

'I think it's about time we put a stop to this Sweden thing,' said the Liverpool star who netted England's second against Trinidad.

If Gerrard is to get his way then England will have to show more creativity in their play rather than simply using Peter Crouch as a target man, a tactic Trinidad coach Leo Beenhakker admitted helped his side to frustrate England for so long.

'We've got to be careful if Peter does play that we don't use the long ball too much,' admitted Gerrard.

But Crouch scored England's first against Trinidad and has now scored five times in his last six international appearances - hardly the form that will see him dropped by Eriksson.

It is much more likely that Owen will have to make way for the returning Wayne Rooney who played 32 minutes on Thursday against the Caribbean nation, replacing Owen, and clearly needs match practice as he returns from his seven-week layoff.

One thing seems certain, if Eriksson does retain faith with Owen and starts him against the Swedes and the Newcastle United striker fails to deliver, it could be the last time he lines up for the English national anthem at this World Cup.