Eriksson happy with tactical options

England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson revealed he would use just two formations at the World Cup finals, but insisted both systems can play to the strengths of Michael Owen and Wayne Rooney.

Eriksson is considering whether to revert to his normal 4-4-2 line-up against Northern Ireland on Wednesday, with Shaun Wright-Phillips making way as Owen returns to the side after suspension.

Joe Cole, who must still prove his fitness after a slight calf strain, insisted: “I don’t think it’s anything, it’s just a niggle and I should be fit for Wednesday.”

Owen, meanwhile, must still assure Eriksson of his match sharpness in training, having not started a competitive game so far this season.

“I think Michael Owen will play against Northern Ireland, although he hasn’t played much football this season, so we will have to see on Monday and Tuesday in practice,” revealed the England coach.

Eriksson was still pleased with the 4-5-1 formation used against Wales at the weekend in Owen’s absence, even though England only secured victory thanks to a deflected strike by Cole and a superb save from Paul Robinson.

That formation may play to the strengths of England’s midfield, with Eriksson having warned Steven Gerrard, David Beckham and Frank Lampard to sort out their confusion in Denmark.

“Before the Denmark game, we’d played 4-4-2 and they did it extremely well. But as soon as we got into trouble against Denmark, there were three of them doing the same kind of job,” he revealed.

“Because of that, I took them in on Tuesday and said we had to sort it forever, that they couldn’t all do the same job. We had discussions about it and what solution we could find. After listening to them, I decided to play like we did against Wales.”

However, it is not exactly perfect for Rooney. He started off centrally against Wales but was shifted to first the left and then the right when Jermain Defoe was brought on and would be asked to fill a similar role if Owen was playing.

“It depends who is available. This time, we chose to play this way and it worked. I’m not worried about Wayne Rooney though,” insisted Eriksson.

“I’ve never asked him what his favourite position is, but I guess the answer should be that it doesn’t matter. He did well. When he drops, he keeps the ball. It’s not that he loses it. He gives time to the rest of the team.”

Eriksson was then asked whether Owen, who is not exactly built for a lone central role, could still be picked if this system was retained.

“If he’s in good shape, then yes,” he maintained. “But if we choose to play like this, we have to have Rooney a little bit to the right or left, but a bit closer.”

While Eriksson may tinker with his tactics, he still knows his intended World Cup starting line-up – and they should play against Northern Ireland, with the exception of the injured John Terry and Gary Neville.

As for his tactics, he insisted: “I should be very happy to go to the World Cup with two systems so we can vary them. Not five systems, but this [4-5-1] could be one of them and the other would be 4-4-2.”

Eriksson is still looking for a taller striker to force his way into his final squad to give him further options in his substitutions.

“I’d like to have one on the bench, so that we have other solutions,” he revealed. “Peter Crouch is injured and how much will he play this season? Darren Bent has no experience yet and I thought about Emile Heskey for this squad but he had a groin injury.”

Luke Young seems to have moved ahead of Glen Johnson as deputy for Gary Neville, having recovered from an uncertain start against Wales to grow in stature in the second half.

“He was very good. Is he now England’s second choice right-back? Maybe yes as he did very well. He was very solid. The back line did an extremely good job,” concluded Eriksson.