Ferdinand focuses on test of wits

One could think of easier strikers for a shell-shocked centre-back to have to face than Messrs Van Nistelrooy, Hasselbaink and Kluivert, but then Rio Ferdinand has never been one to take the easy option. If he had been, he would never have left West Ham.

In fact, he positively recoils at any suggestion that he has a ready-made excuse if things go badly for him personally in the Amsterdam ArenA tonight. Just as he discounted the idea that the court trials of Jonathan Woodgate and Lee Bowyer were to blame for Leeds' dramatically failing form in the Premiership. As he remarked: "We've been playing well while these things were going on.'' The inference being, why use them as an excuse now?

Ferdinand continued: "We don't look for excuses. We're not playing well as team, as a unit, it's as simple as that. We don't start putting our fingers on anything else and start making excuses for ourselves. We're just having a bad patch at the moment."

Ferdinand had the good fortune – he would probably say the misfortune – to miss the 2-0 lesson by the Dutch at White Hart Lane in August, in fact the only game he has missed during the reign of the current England coach. So when he says: "It's always nice to play against the best teams,'' you have to believe him, even if Sven Goran Eriksson would appear to be leading lambs to the slaughter tonight with a selection made all the more experimental by withdrawals.

One of those international novices who will be taking the field will be playing right along side Ferdinand, who himself does not exactly qualify as an old campaigner. He admitted to having had his eye on the development of Tottenham's Ledley King for a while. "I always keep any eye out when other players are coming through in a similar position to what I'm in,'' he said.

King may be trying to fill what Ferdinand referred to as Sol Campbell's "big shoes'' at Tottenham, but the ball-playing young central defender is probably closer to Ferdinand's size 10s in style than the former White Hart Lane favourite. "He's a good player, comfortable on the ball. He looks quality,'' said the man in possession.

Surely, though, there was no reason for him to fear for his place on board the plane to Japan? "No? I half-assumed I'd go to Euro 2000, but I didn't,'' answered Ferdinand. Looking at this rather serious, very focused young man it was hard to imagine him being left out of a five-a-side kickabout, never mind a World Cup.

Any attempts by the media to detect a split in the ranks over Eriksson's slightly puzzling selection got short shrift from Ferdinand. Asked if perhaps it would soon be time – like now – when Eriksson would need to field his strongest possible XI, he replied: "I think I'll leave that to the manager. He is very experienced from the teams he has managed and the amount of time he has been around, so whatever he does the players will be 100 per cent behind him. Everything he's done so far has been good, so why bet against him this time?''

Ferdinand likened Bolton's Michael Ricketts to Emile Heskey in his power and pace while the mere mention of the name of Aston Villa's Darius Vassell made him smile. "He is very lively,'' he said with a hint of understatement, adding, more for the Netherlands' information than the gathered press: "Players who've got his kind of pace who can get behind people, you have to stay on top of your game for 90 minutes.''

Whether or not Frank de Boer and co eagerly await the opportunity to steer the speedy Vassell up blind alleys, Ferdinand was genuinely looking forward to the game. "I can't wait – if selected,'' he said. "I've never played against Kluivert before. I've only seen him on the telly and he's up there in the top bracket of centre-forwards. You want to pit your wits against great players like him.

"Obviously, Jimmy [Floyd Hasselbaink] is a natural goalscorer. Give him half a chance and he usually puts the ball in the back of the net. So that's two quality strikers and then there's Van Nistelrooy as well who's been on fire for United lately and seems to have everything.''

And the best striker he has ever faced? "I don't know. I don't like giving away that...'' he said, stopping himself in mid-sentence, possibly because he realised the person he had in mind – yet another Dutchman – would not be around to torment England. "Dennis Berg-kamp,'' he replied. "He's brainy. He brings you into positions that you don't really want to go.''

And there we were thinking that things could hardly be much worse for England tonight.