'Our boys are gonna give you one hell of a beating," the Sun's front page promised Jacques Chirac, as opposed to Jacques Santini, last week as it continued its countdown to tomorrow's meeting of England and France in Lisbon. Buoyantly confident, then.

Meanwhile, over at the London Independent, James Lawton was attempting to throw a wet blanket on this outbreak of bolshie optimism, soberly reminding anyone who would listen that England "generally retire from major tournaments with the demeanour of whipped curs".

And so they have, for the most part. It's been 38 years of hurt now, and counting, with England only offering their supporters a whiff of major tournament success at the 1990 World Cup and Euro 96 when they reached the semi-finals, losing both times to Germany on penalties.

Their European Championship record has been particularly dismal: they failed to qualify for two of the last seven tournaments, and were knocked out in the first round in another four.

Little wonder, then, that Lawton is struggling to be as cheerfully optimistic as some of his colleagues; history has taught him that "England Hopes", rather than "England Expects", is the more prudent mindset on the eve of a tournament. That way he won't be too surprised or deflated if English football is coming home, to London, on Tuesday week, having failed to reach the quarter-finals.

And those who see no reason for English supporters to be any more expectant this time around have in their possession a list of concerns that would appear to lend some substance to their pessimism.

Top of that list, perhaps, is Sven-Goran Eriksson's apparent indecision on the formation he will use in the tournament, to the point where the English press has stripped Claudio Ranieri of his title and crowned the Swede the new Tinkerman.

Their hope is that he's merely trying to confuse England's opponents in Portugal; their fear is that he'll end up confusing himself. And worse, his players.

Eriksson used England's recent games against Japan and Iceland to try, once more, to find a way of fitting David Beckham, Steven Gerrard, Paul Scholes and Frank Lampard, all of whom prefer a central role, into the same midfield.

There ensued, after those games, a heated national debate on the merits of playing a flat "four across the middle", as opposed to a "diamond system", a debate so all-encompassing, in an English national sense, that one could almost picture the Queen and Prince Philip bickering about it over breakfast.

The Queen, you'd have to assume, is a "diamond" woman, perhaps with a preference for Nicholas Butt in the holding role in front of the back four, replacing, possibly, Lampard in the line-up.

It's a preference Eriksson, who appears to regard Scholes as undroppable, despite his largely indifferent form for England over the last year or three, was also believed to hold. But the contrast in the players' fortunes and form in the club season just ended resulted in the Chelsea midfielder taking Butt's place in the starting line-up against Japan and Iceland.

Butt, though, played only seven full Premiership and three full Champions League games all season for Manchester United, despite Roy Keane's frequent absences, having fallen behind Phil Neville and, later, Darren Fletcher, in the midfield pecking order.

That he is still even in contention for a place in the England starting line-up has left some observers a touch unimpressed, and depressed, viewing it as a sign of the paucity of Eriksson's options and proof that English football, "overrun" by "foreign" talent, is failing to produce new blood worthy of the national coach's consideration.

Others, though, argue that as the only midfielder in Eriksson's squad naturally suited to filling the defensive point of the diamond, or the grafting role in a four across the middle, Butt should play in the potentially tournament-shaping opening game.

Alan Hansen, for one, supports his inclusion, "as a defensive precaution", suggesting that Eriksson may even drop Wayne Rooney to accommodate Butt without omitting one of Beckham, Gerrard, Scholes and Lampard, and play Scholes behind Michael Owen.

Such, however, are the frenzied heights Roonmania has hit in the last week, after his goals against Iceland, Eriksson would be a brave man to leave the Everton forward out.

But, despite the collective talent of Beckham, Gerrard, Scholes and Lampard, the four best midfielders available to Eriksson, none is keen on, nor practised in, filling that holding role in front of the defence; when Lampard and Gerrard have been used in that position their attacking strengths have been laid to waste.

Too often the four drift, instinctively, towards the centre, leaving full backs Gary Neville and Ashley Cole hopelessly exposed. Japan punished England once with a goal in Manchester; one wondered quite what Zinedine Zidane, Thierry Henry and Robert Pires would have done with all that space.

Even more pressing a problem for Eriksson is the condition of John Terry's hamstring. In the absence of the unavailable or injured Rio Ferdinand, Gareth Southgate and Jonathan Woodgate (and the unselected Wes Brown and Ugo Ehiogu), an injury to either Terry or Sol Campbell was unthinkable but Eriksson now faces having to pair either Jamie Carragher or Ledley King with Campbell against the French. (Gary Neville is also an option, but only if you haven't seen him play in the centre of defence for Manchester United).

Rooney? What if it all proves too much for the teenager? What if his errant elbows and foolishly late tackles (i.e., suspect temperament,) get the better of him and he has a red card waved in his face? What then? Emile Heskey or Darius Vassell?

So, another first round exit? Well, maybe not. What if Beckham, Gerrard, Scholes and Lampard live up to their potential? After the season he's just had, "living up to his potential" should make Gerrard the player of the tournament. He was positively immense for Liverpool last season and, arguably, has replaced Beckham as England's most influential player.

And what if Owen and Rooney click? What if they prove to be Euro 2004's most potent partnership?

Lots of "ifs", a few Nicky "Butts", but could 38 years of hurt be drawn to a close with David Beckham raising the European Championship trophy at the Estadio da Luz on July the fourth? Or will 23 "whipped curs", plus Eriksson, limp home in a fortnight, to be greeted by the Sun declaring that "our boys took one hell of a beating"?