The mere suggestion in song by German fans on Saturday evening that they were off to Berlin while the English were going home is said to have been enough to spark the trouble in Stuttgart that raged for several hours and led to some 400 arrests.

Despite relentless criticism of their performance by all sections of the media here, though, England are very much still in Germany, and after Portugal's chaotic defeat of the Netherlands on Sunday evening there is a growing sense they can break what would be new ground during their time under Sven-Goran Eriksson by reaching the semi-finals.

Portugal's coach, Luiz Felipe Scolari, has plotted England's downfall in each of their last two tournaments, with Brazil in 2002 and his present team two years later. On both occasions Eriksson has been outwitted by a rival who would, if the English FA had had its way, have been the Swede's successor.

"I'd like to win again but we're not dealing with a game between Eriksson and Scolari," said the Brazilian in the wake of Sunday's second-round success. "It's a game between Portugal and England and it's not the coaches who beat the coaches but the teams that beat the teams."

Scolari will nevertheless have a major say in the proceedings this weekend as he plots a way past England without the services of either Deco or Costinha.

The Portuguese said yesterday they would appeal the former's sending off at the weekend because his foul on John Heitinga that led to his first booking had been prompted by the Dutch defender's refusal to give the ball back after his side had put it out of play to allow treatment to an injured player.

It would set quite a precedent if Fifa were to say fouls in such circumstances were permissible.

The appeal is certain to come to nothing, and Scolari should feel relieved that he will have his inspiration skipper, Luis Figo, available after Fifa indicated yesterday no further action would be taken regarding his head butt on Mark van Bommel.

The Dutch player clearly made the most of the incident - he did not even react initially - but the intent on Figo's part was clear, and it is a little bewildering that he received only a yellow card.

The booking, though, has effectively prevented him being banned for Saturday as Fifa decline to overrule a referee who has taken action over an incident, however inappropriate the punishment or compelling the video evidence.

Once again the ludicrous inconsistencies of the organisation's policy on retrospective sanction leave Fifa open to ridicule.

Given his generally impressive form at this tournament, Figo's presence will be desperately important against the English.

While Maniche has finally rediscovered the form that marked him out as one of the players of the tournament at Euro 2004 and Cristiano Ronaldo has had his moments here, it is the veteran Inter Milan star who remains the heart of things for Scolari's side even if some of his speed and stamina have deserted him.

His role will be all the more important given the absence of Deco, whose outstanding distribution from an advanced position in central midfield and ability to hit the target from long range should have been a key asset against an England side likely to feature five across the middle.

With Gary Neville expected to be fit by Saturday, the Manchester United right back may well reclaim his place. But it would be a surprise if Eriksson changes much else, the essential shape of the team and personnel remaining the same.

Frank Lampard, yet to score despite having had more attempts on goal than any other player at this tournament (an average of six a game) does continue to look vulnerable. But with the Swede continuing to insist his side are doing better than they are getting credit for, his most obvious dilemma is whether to play Michael Carrick of Owen Hargreaves in the holding midfield role.

Having seen his side defend so poorly in the second half against Sweden, Eriksson pointed to the improvement in this department on Sunday as one reason for satisfaction. And his upbeat assessment of what was more widely perceived as a deeply flawed performance is echoed by his players.

"Give us some credit," says Joe Cole. "We played a good side in Ecuador. They've beaten Argentina and Brazil in their qualifying tournament. We did it in the heat and humidity, paced ourselves better this time, showed good fitness and got the job done."

Like Eriksson, the Chelsea midfielder, concedes there is room for improvement in the team's performances but, he insists, "the only thing which matters is that we're in those quarter-finals. We're not up in the clouds playing wonder football; we're not going to get mugged that way. But we're focused. We know there are still things to improve on but we're getting better and better each game."

Whether the improvement is sufficient to yield what would be only England's second win over the Portuguese in the 10 games they have played since a 1-0 victory at Wembley back in 1969 remains to be seen.

To date Eriksson's men have been doing just enough to get the required results against lesser sides. Now, however, Big Phil stands in their way.