James will decline goalline protection

England goalkeeper David James will refuse the opportunity to have a defender alongside him on the goalline to combat the threat of Luis Figo’s free-kicks against Portugal tonight.

James was caught out by Zinedine Zidane’s last-gasp free-kick in England’s Euro 2004 Group B opener with France at the Stadium of Light 11 days ago.

Captain David Beckham had asked the Manchester City player if he wanted additional protection before Zidane struck in such deadly fashion, with the offer being declined by James.

James will adopt the same stance in the quarter-final against the host nation, although he has been studying video footage of Figo taking set-plays over the past 48 hours to give himself every possible chance of denying the Portugese playmaker.

He said: “I was asked by Becks [David Beckham]: ‘Do you want a man on the post?’ when lining the wall up for the Zidane free-kick but it is not something I am used to – and I didn’t.

“Zidane is arguably the best free-kick taker in the world but the problem with having someone on the post is that it encourages the opposition to come closer to you.

“What you really want is a clear sight of the ball. Having someone there is not crossing my mind and if you are going to do that you need to practice and practice that in training.

“I am not saying it is something that we have overlooked but something that we don’t normally do.”

James is as prepared as he can be to shut out the Portuguese tonight and clinch England’s first semi-final spot for eight years in a major tournament.

He said: “Sky have given me a couple of videos of across-the-board penalties from the Premiership to Hackney Marshes with about 30-40 penalty-takers on there.

“I have also been studying videos of the Portuguese free-kicks. We will have done our homework by kick-off time.”