McClaren gambles on a fired-up 'Sir' Becks in a 4-4-2

14 April 2012

On a day when the debate moved from Wembley to Whitehall and whether David Beckham deserves a knighthood rather than a place on England's right flank, Steve McClaren at least settled one argument.

He has opted for 4-4-2 against Brazil after finally concluding that deploying Michael Owen as a lone striker was more dangerous than starting without a holding midfielder.

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England expects: Michael Owen is confident he can deliver goals

England expects: Michael Owen is confident he can deliver goals

Being forced to choose between the lesser of two sporting evils sums up just how desperate a situation England's coach finds himself. How a match that should simply mark the return of Beckham and Owen could be more memorable for the return of a team that performed so poorly at the World Cup.

In the end, McClaren probably felt he had little choice. When he did set out his team in training earlier this week with Ledley King at the base of a five-man midfield, they were beaten by the reserves.

Ordering Owen to lead England's attack on his own probably was asking too much of a player who has just returned from injury, but obvious concerns remain.

Beckham and Joe Cole either side of Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard is a midfield, as Sven Goran Eriksson discovered in Germany, desperately short of pace as well as a player with the defensive discipline to pick up the likes of Kaka.

Perhaps more of a concern, however, is the likely appearance of Jamie Carragher at full-back when he and Beckham looked so uncomfortable as a partnership on the right against Trinidad and Tobago and Sweden in that same hugely disappointing World Cup campaign.

Carragher is a wonderful centre-half and after his Liverpool heroics he should have been considered only as a partner for John Terry.

Phil Neville would have offered more mobility on the right flank and if McClaren is as keen as he should be to avoid any more abuse from disgruntled England supporters perhaps he should have selected King ahead of Lampard in midfield.

He almost certainly would have opted for the injured Owen Hargreaves, as he did for that European Championship match with Andorra when Lampard withdrew "injured".

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All gold: Terry will organise the defence

All gold: Terry will organise the defence

He might regret including Lampard this time if Gerrard and the Chelsea midfielder again fail to provide the right balance in the centre.

McClaren does, however, have one thing in his favour - players with a point to prove.

Rarely have so many gone into a friendly with so much to motivate them. Beckham wants to show he never should have been dropped in the first place and so, presumably, does Lampard.

Owen, Joe Cole and Alan Smith will be keen to remind England fans what they have been missing. Beckham being so much fitter than 12 months ago should also improve matters.

A smart new Wembley provides an added incentive and at the team hotel on Thursday the players appeared in the mood for a meeting with some of the world's finest talent.

The burden of responsibility rests heavy on the more muscular shoulders of Owen but that does not worry him. "With England comes that responsibility," he said.

"I've grown up with it and enjoy it. The burden is the easiest thing for me to handle because mental strength is probably my biggest asset. The more the pressure, the better for me."

If McClaren had to make a choice, he would prefer Owen to score against Estonia next week but the Newcastle striker has a remarkable record against Brazil. In two senior appearances, plus one as a schoolboy, he has scored every time.

Owen said: "It's a mixture of a lot of things. I love high stakes games and it's always important to have good first experiences in life.

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"Every challenge you meet whether it's your first youth or reserve game, your debut or your first England game, whatever it might be, if you go and do the business in those first games then the self-belief you get from that you never lose.

"You never lose that ability to believe in yourself. I am always a great believer in myself. For me, it's 80 per cent self-belief and, if I am playing well, then 20 per cent confidence.

"A lot of other players maybe have 50 per cent self-belief and the other 50 per cent is down to confidence. It can be affected by the way they are playing.

"I believe I have a big base of self-belief, bigger than most players, and even if I'm not playing great I still feel I can contribute.

"If you give me a chance it doesn't matter if I haven't had a kick because I still feel I have a chance of scoring. As good a chance as if I'm playing great. I know I can score against Brazil or Estonia. I know I can."

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After what has been a difficult first season under McClaren, Terry recognises the importance of performing well at Wembley.

"We need to go there and do the business," said the England captain. "The Brazil game is a chance for us to get our sharpness back and make sure we are ready for the game on Wednesday.

"Becks deserves his recall. He's been in great form for Real Madrid, supplying great crosses. His work rate is fantastic and it's really good to have him back. Becks can give us great things and he'll do that."

Not since that opening game of the season against Greece have England scored from a set-piece. Presumably Beckham's right foot will again be put to good use.

"We all know the quality he has in that department," said Terry, who then spoke of how Beckham has "rejuvenated" the squad.

"It's great to have him back and I shook his hand and said that to him when I first saw him," said Terry. "When I was made captain the first phone calls were from Becks and Stevie G.

"Since then I've had one call a week or so from Becks wishing me good luck going into Chelsea games, asking how things are and telling me he's always there if I need him."

On Friday night McClaren definitely needs Beckham, as he does a performance that proves he has not, in fact, taken the England team backwards.

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