Sven-Goran Eriksson insisted Frank Lampard can rise to the challenge of coping with Zinedine Zidane as the Chelsea midfielder was handed the coveted England number 11 shirt for the Euro 2004 finals.
Eriksson confirmed no changes to his provisional 23-man squad when he confirmed the final party to UEFA yesterdayday, with standby striker Jermain Defoe therefore missing out.
The England coach is optimistic about slight injury worries which affected David Beckham, Gary Neville and John Terry during the 1-1 draw against Japan.
It remains to be seen whether they will be rested from Saturday's final warm-up game against Iceland, but the trio believe they will be fit for the opening Euro 2004 group game against France.
Neville insisted: "I'm fine, there's nothing to worry about. It's the same for David. We will both be okay. These things happen, but I don't think we've got anything serious." Against France, England must cope not only with strikers Thierry Henry and David Trezeguet, but also the roving midfield figures of Zidane and Robert Pires.
France's two main creative forces are given licence to roam forward by the defensive talents of Patrick Vieira and Claude Makelele behind them.
Eriksson, however, looks to have dispensed with three years' planning and preparation by shifting away from a natural holding midfielder, whether it be Nicky Butt, Owen Hargreaves or Phil Neville.
Instead, Lampard is set to be asked to continue adapting his game to ensure that the Swede can find him a place in the side, especially after being handed the number 11 shirt ahead of Butt, who is number 17.
It would seem to be yet another case of a square peg, albeit an in-form one, in a round hole, just like playing Steven Gerrard on the left flank.
And the evidence of history is that teams which win championships tend to have the "water carrier" in their midst, such as Dunga, Didier Deschamps or Gilberto Silva.
Eriksson nevertheless showed few signs of changing tack as he insisted: "It was a long time ago that I decided Frank Lampard should have a chance to play in the first XI.
"He is very young and you can't expect him to know everything about football yet, but he's a clever player.
"I am confident that he can cope with it (countering Zidane) if that is what we choose." Eriksson still insisted he had not definitely decided upon his starting line-up to face France, observing that "we will see how Nicky Butt is looking at the end of the next two weeks".
However, it is clear that Butt lacks some sharpness after not holding down a regular place in the United side this season.
ENGLAND SQUAD (with assigned shirt numbers): 1 James (Man City), 2 G Neville (Man Utd), 3 Cole (Arsenal), 4 Gerrard (Liverpool), 5 Terry (Chelsea), 6 Campbell (Arsenal), 7 Beckham (Real Madrid), 8 Scholes (Man Utd), 9 Rooney (Everton), 10 Owen (Liverpool), 11 Lampard (Chelsea), 12 Bridge (Chelsea), 13 Robinson (Tottenham), 14 P Neville (Man Utd), 15 King (Tottenham), 16 Carragher (Liverpool), 17 Butt (Man Utd), 18 Hargreaves (Bayern Munich), 19 Cole (Chelsea), 20 Dyer (Newcastle Utd), 21 Heskey (Birmingham City), 22 Walker (Leicester City), 23 Vassell (Aston Villa).
