England reaction: If friendly matches are supposed to be auditions then England's are a sham. The producer Sven-Goran Eriksson might tilt his head in simulated interest as each new hopeful steps to the microphone, but he is not really listening.
Wednesday's 1-0 defeat in Gothenburg was noteworthy for his indifference to it.
After the match, he did a better job of checking Jermain Defoe than any of Sweden's defenders. Short of scoring, the nimble Spurs attacker did everything he possibly could to impress, but merely got himself noted as a prospect for the 2006 World Cup.
Eriksson all but ruled him out of the European Championship. "It depends on the other strikers, how many are available injury-wise and how their form is," the manager said. The situation is even worse than that for Defoe because, in practice, Eriksson does not even mind if his preferred players are doing poorly.
Liverpool have lost patience with Emile Heskey's perennial crises of confidence and he might be sold for €4.5 million or less, yet Eriksson's valuation never dips. "Heskey is physically strong," said the manager. "I know he doesn't score that many goals but he's been important in many games for us."
While Defoe at least turned himself into a topic of conversation, the other debutants, Alan Thompson and Anthony Gardner, did not impress. The party for Euro 2004 will, barring subsequent injuries, be the one that is announced for the friendlies against Japan and Iceland at the beginning of June. For any contender, Wednesday's match with Sweden was the last chance, and it was a slim one.
Even the identity of the players kept on standby for Euro 2004 can already be guessed. Should anyone withdraw, the potential replacements would be Danny Mills, Matthew Upson, Scott Parker, Jermaine Jenas and Defoe. Eriksson's unwavering opinion brings continuity of selection but it will frustrate others.
Take Alan Smith. Before Wednesday's match, he spoke of his relief at being used as a forward again since Eddie Gray took over at Leeds. "It's given me a new lease of life. I've been playing in midfield for two years and it's been two years too long."
So where did Eriksson field him as a substitute against Sweden? On the right of midfield. Smith therefore had half-an-hour's involvement in which it was impossible for him to present himself as a rival to, say, Heskey.
Beforehand, the striker had pictured Leeds's struggle against relegation as the battle ground in which he could show his mettle. "If I can keep us up, there should be a good chance I can get in the (England) squad," he said.
Should Leeds remain in the top-flight, he would be prepared to stay at the club, but cost-cutting might demand the sale of a forward on €45,000 a week.
"If we go down obviously it would be time to move on, for the sake of my England career as well, but I've never wanted to leave. Whether I'm there or somewhere else, the main thing that's on my mind is that the club should be safe and have a future."
He supposes that the men behind the takeover of Leeds have already decided his fate, but the team's direction is a more pressing worry. Each rally splutters out and the recent victory over Manchester City was followed by a 4-1 defeat at Birmingham that leaves them second bottom of the table, ahead of Monday's significant match with Leicester at Elland Road.
"We can't win back-to-back games," he said. "We lack a bit of fight. We seem to roll over in games. At Everton we let in four. Portsmouth away, we got beat 6-1. No disrespect to them, but that shouldn't happen.
"It's too easy to blame circumstances. When nothing is going right for a team it should make you stronger. Sometimes we have shown that and now we have to do it in next eight games."
Eight games to rescue a club. It is an ambitious dream. But no more dreamlike perhaps, than Smith's chances of a Euro 2004 call-up from Eriksson.
Guardian Service
