Eriksson forced to review his options

Austria v England (Vienna, 7.30): Injuries might make players hobble but they can give a manager a turn of speed. Sven-Goran Eriksson's plans have been accelerated and he will send out a reconstructed line-up for the opening match of the World Cup qualifiers against Austria.

Shaun Wright-Phillips is expected to make his competitive debut for England this evening while David Beckham moves to the centre of the pitch.

Steven Gerrard strained his groin near the end of training on Thursday and, with that, Eriksson's preconceptions began to buckle. While the squad practised on the pitch at the Ernst Happel stadium yesterday, the midfielder was elsewhere in the ground receiving treatment. He has, however, been seen walking gingerly.

The manager does not intend to reach a decision about Gerrard until early this afternoon but he would pick him only if the physio and doctor guaranteed that his condition would not be aggravated by taking part. It is virtually inconceivable that such an assurance could be offered.

The Swede has already ruled against any gamble on Gerrard. "It wouldn't be fair to him, England or Liverpool," said Eriksson. "It's the beginning of the season and at this stage no player wants to be injured for a long time. I am quite sure he will be ready for the game with Poland."

Gerrard's limp to the sidelines bracketed him with another midfielder, Nicky Butt, whose tight hamstring is being ministered to back on Tyneside. With Paul Scholes gone, opportunities suddenly abound.

Wright-Phillips scored an adventurous goal while earning his first cap as a substitute against Ukraine last month but Eriksson never planned to promote him further so soon.

"I believe Phillips is ready to play in a competitive game," the manager had little option but to testify yesterday.

Whatever impact he has on Austria, the 22-year-old Manchester City player has sent a ripple through the England line-up that has Beckham bobbing over to the post he holds at Real Madrid. "I think Beckham likes it and he is looking more and more natural in the role," said Eriksson.

The captain claims he is happy to play anywhere for his country but his move to Spain was in part born of a craving to occupy the pivotal position on the pitch. He was out for greater power and he knows where it lies.

"When you're in the middle you have a chance of seeing more of the game," he said. "You can play the ball to the left, the right or through the centre. When you're on the wing your options are more limited."

Beckham was released from the flanks for the second half of his bright display against Ukraine and, with the occasional uninhibited tackle, unveiled an aggressive trait. As the red card against Argentina at the 1998 World Cup first showed, there is a headstrong aspect to him.

A change of position this evening will be an invitation to impose himself sensibly. Whether he lives up to his own ideals in practice, his obsession with leadership is becoming ever more marked.

"Captains like Bryan Robson and Alan Shearer fought for every ball," he said in lip-smacking reverie. "That's the only thing I can do if I'm not playing well or scoring free-kicks."

There would be jeering over the nomination of Beckham as the line-up's enforcer but ball-winning will not be the main mission tonight. Austria are expected to sit deep while awaiting chances to counterattack and the coach Hans Krankl may hope, in the less important sectors of the pitch, to let England have more possession than they can properly digest.

Eriksson, having dispensed with a holding midfielder, will be conservative elsewhere.

"We could have to change our player for the left, maybe to be more cautious at the start at least," he said. This will mean stationing Wayne Bridge ahead of Ashley Cole.

The combination of those footballers could be taken as a hex, since their single alliance for England came in the 2-2 draw with Macedonia at St Mary's in October 2002.

The rational Eriksson does not hold them responsible for that and rightly notes each has since improved. He would likely have tried the partnership against Ukraine had Bridge not been injured.

The lack of a left-footed midfielder on that flank has become an obsession in some quarters and restoring Bridge to the team cannot conceivably transform England's hopes. Tonight, all the same, it may ensure natural width that will be useful against the congestion Austria mean to cause.

Eriksson warns of the frustration that a side like Krankl's can engender.

"Since I've been in charge we have never had an easy qualification game," he argued.

With perseverance tonight, they ought also to feel comfortable eventually in a crammed stadium that will exude antagonism at the outset.

The manager is puzzled and irked by the predictions, following the misadventure at Euro 2004, of a backlash if England should disappoint in Vienna.

"I never understood why we should be talking about playing badly and losing," he said of the approach to the match.

There ought to be no failure for anyone to discuss at close of business tonight. Guardian Service