EURO 2004 QUALIFIER/Group Seven - England v Slovakia: Selflessness never comes easily to predators but Michael Owen seems not at all perturbed that he might set up the goal that sees Wayne Rooney supplant him as the youngest scorer in the history of the England team. The 17-year-old Everton forward is already the youngest debutant.
Owen watches the rise of the plundering youngster with placidity and a trace of bemusement. "I'll be delighted if he does score," said the Liverpool forward. "He's probably going to beat more than that record. I am setting a record as the youngest person to get 50 caps for England but he's started younger than me, so he could take it off me."
The expected partnership of the two strikers helps make tonight's Euro 2004 qualifier at the Riverside even more of an occasion. Although they were first asked to combine for England in the victory over Turkey, Owen injured an ankle shortly after kick-off and was clearly hampered. They have not been in the England line-up at the same time since then and this evening should bring the first indication of the true merit of the pairing.
Sven-Goran Eriksson knows how excited the public has become over Rooney and the link he could forge with Owen. "I can understand it: two young, golden boys," the coach said. "It's good to say that you saw history in the making when those two played together." But, in truth, spectators are not necessarily star-struck or sentimental.
They may prove every bit as realistic as Eriksson himself. Owen has 20 goals with England but, if he is going to keep on being prolific, the service must be tailored to his needs. Although Rooney's career is still taking shape, the signs are that he may be a creator who supplies goals of his own as a fringe benefit. Think of him as a hulking Peter Beardsley.
The existing set-up does not bring out the best in Owen. David Beckham, suspended tonight, is primarily a crosser and the centre-forward does not have the height to take advantage of his deliveries regularly. With Teddy Sheringham gone, there is no natural foil in the centre of attack and the lack of candidates for a role on the left of midfield is a worry.
Eriksson's answer has been to push Paul Scholes closer to the forward line and Rooney, too, could supply Owen with passes that exploit his mobility. The Swede has never liked playing with two orthodox strikers. When possession is lost, he feels it is sufficient to leave one forward up front to keep the opposition's centre-backs occupied. The other, Eriksson argues, should drop deeper and build counter-attacks when the ball is regained. Rooney fits the bill to perfection.
Owen, for his part, will find it particularly easy to welcome the newcomer if he thereby gets a greater number of chances. The system has to start working immediately because England must bound forward if they are to finish ahead of Turkey in Group Seven and so avoid the hazards of the play-offs that are incurred by coming second.
England need to go to Istanbul with wins over Slovakia, Macedonia and Liechtenstein in place so that a draw with Senol Gunes's team would suffice. The sharing of the points with Macedonia at St Mary's continues to gnaw at Eriksson. "After the World Cup we did so-so," he said. "We failed in the game with Macedonia. We should have won it. I hope that we do not pay for that at the end of this qualification group."
In general he is content, arguing that results have been pleasing since last summer. "The victory over Turkey was as good as beating Germany or Argentina. It's seldom we fail when the big games come up."
