Keegan's England must win

Kevin Keegan has kept faith with his attacking instincts and will trust England share similar beliefs when they face Poland at Wembley this afternoon. It is a match they must win if they are to stand a realistic chance of qualifying for next year's European Championship by the most direct route.

Keegan's England will attack Poland on the flanks in the hope that their opponents' tight-marking sweeper system will be sufficiently stretched to allow Alan Shearer and Andy Cole scoring chances. To this end he has picked David Beckham and Steve McManaman, the latter starting a competitive game for England for the first time since the World Cup qualifier against Italy at Wembley in February 1997.

There will be no Parlour games, not to begin with anyway. Ray Parlour will be on the bench but another midfielder, Tim Sherwood, wins his first cap in the absence of the suspended Paul Ince and the unfit David Batty.

Tony Adams was forced out of the match yesterday morning with a back injury. Martin Keown, his partner in the middle of the Arsenal defence, will play alongside Sol Campbell but Adams's authority at the back will be missed.

The first of the four England teams Keegan will select was always going to have an adventurous look about it but much is going to depend on how quickly this side settles against opponents unbeaten in eight games and ready to punish the sort of lapses which, but for Shearer's two goals, might have brought Poland a win on their previous visit in the World Cup 18 months ago.

England have to get their passing right. The Poles may not have a Zinedine Zidane, architect of France's 2-0 victory in last month's friendly at Wembley when England were between managers, but they still have the means to punish similar sloppiness if the English defence is again exposed by the ball being given away.

It will be surprising if there is a similar occurrence now. England's footballers have the chance to demonstrate that a change of coach can lead to a change of attitude. Glenn Hoddle was not dismissed for football reasons but Keegan has been given the job for four matches in the popular belief that he can revive spirits which were beginning to sag before Hoddle's departure.

Certainly, if cheer-leading can win matches, Keegan would appear to be more than halfway there. Yesterday he exuded the sort of buoyant confidence general election candidates are apt to display between the polling booths closing and the start of the count.

The practical need to beat Poland is self-evident. An early 21 defeat in Sweden and the goalless draw Bulgaria forced at Wembley have already imperiled England's chances of qualifying as group winners or best runners-up and avoiding a two-legged playoff.

A failure to win today would raise serious doubts about their ability to qualify at all. A point would better suit the Poles, the present Group Five leaders on goal difference from Sweden, whom they meet at home on Wednesday. The Swedes visit Wembley on June 5th, by which time Keegan will hope to have established his own mark on a settled side. A solid win today would give him a much better chance of achieving that aim.

ENGLAND: Seaman; G Neville, Keown, Campbell, Le Saux; Beckham, Sherwood, Scholes, McManaman; Shearer, Cole.

POLAND (possible): Matysek; Waldoch, Zielinski, Hajto, Ratajczyk; Iwan, Klos, Swierczewski, Adamczuk; Juskowiak, Kowalczyk.

Referee: V Pereira (Portugal).