Phillips eager to shine as scramble starts

It is a sobering thought that, but for David Beckham's ability to score from a free-kick, England would now be in Kiev preparing for a tricky World Cup play-off against Ukraine.

The narrowness of England's qualification is reason enough not to dismiss as meaningless today's friendly against Sweden at Old Trafford. The palsied performance against Greece, and the poor display against Albania which preceded it, showed Sven Goran Eriksson still has much to do if England are going to make a serious impact in Asia next summer.

Eriksson stressed yesterday that several places in his squad are still to be claimed and today represents the first of only five opportunities to do so. For those fringe players featuring today, history offers plenty of encouragement. Many a key figure at summer tournaments had only emerged in the winter. In 1966 Geoff Hurst and Martin Peters played their way into the squad in the final months. In 1990 it was Paul Gascoigne; in 1996 it was Gareth Southgate and, in 1998, Michael Owen. He did not make his debut until February 1998 while Southgate's first cap was in December 1995. Thus the likes of Trevor Sinclair and Danny Murphy, who should make their England debuts today, and Kevin Phillips and Darren Anderton, who will play their first internationals under Eriksson, have much to aim for.

Only one of that quartet is expected to start today, either Sinclair or Anderton on the left, but all should figure at some stage, with Eriksson making liberal use of his substitutes. The starting line-up is expected to be a strong one, with Michael Owen included after passing a fitness test on his hamstring yesterday afternoon.

Also included, in his preferred midfield position, will be Paul Scholes. Eriksson said he had spoken to the Manchester United player but not about his problems at club level. They discussed what position Scholes would play and, said Eriksson, "he seemed happy with it. The Swede added: "He will go to the World Cup. There's no doubt about that."

The same cannot be said of Phillips, who is under more pressure than anyone to deliver. The striker has not started an international since failing to score against Malta 17 months ago and may never start another if he underperforms again today. In six England appearances totalling just under four hours' play, he is yet to score a goal – a failure made more significant by Sunderland's absence from European competition.

Eriksson, who had not even included him in a squad since February, was full of encouraging words. "He scores goals. He is quick. He is good on the ball technically and hard-working. I like him very much from what I have seen this year."

The first target for Phillips and other aspirants is to be included in an initial 35-man party to be named by the end of April. Before then England also play the Netherlands, Italy and a South American team to be determined after next month's World Cup draw. Eriksson hopes to arrange a further game to be played either en route to the Far East or once out there. The final squad is expected to be increased from the customary 22 to 23 players. This is in response to requests from managers who would then be able to pick two complete outfield teams plus three goalkeepers.

Eriksson, aware of the FA's belief that England are much more likely to win the 2006 World Cup than 2002, is likely to include some young players just for the experience – as Hoddle picked Rio Ferdinand in 1998. Eriksson watched the Under-21 side's match against the Netherlands on television last night and stressed: "I hope some of those players will knock on the door to the senior team in time for the World Cup."

Sweden, though they are without Henrik Larsson, Patrik Andersson and Fredrik Ljungberg, should be worthwhile opposition. They may lack star names in the absence of that trio but will be difficult to break down and dangerous at set-pieces. They only dropped four points in 10 games during qualifying, are unbeaten in 17 matches since August 2000 and have won their last 11 matches. While not many of those games were against strong opposition, England, having failed to beat Sweden in eight attempts stretching back to 1968, would be wise not to underestimate them.

It will be an emotional game for Eriksson and it is to be hoped England's xenophobic minority do not spoil it by booing the Swedish anthem. This is less likely at a home game, where the audience contains a wider age range and more women, but still possible. Eriksson, tactful as ever, said: "I would not regard it as a personal affront if they boo the Swedish anthem, but it shows very bad education to boo anthems.''