The backbone of England's team against Italy in the Stadio Olimpico here tomorrow night will be provided by David Seaman, Tony Adams, Paul Ince and Teddy Sheringham. But Shering ham's could be the head that takes Glenn Hoddle's players straight to the 1998 World Cup without the added angst of a play-off.

This argument is supported by the goal with which Sheringham brought Manchester United level in the Champions League at Old Trafford nine days ago after Juventus had leapt into a 20second lead. The centre from Ryan Giggs on the left was perfectly delivered to the far post and Sheringham, timing his jump so that he was well above the ball, nodded it hard down past Angelo Peruzzi, who will be less than happy if the Italian defence proves similarly vulnerable in the air tomorrow.

Either way, Sheringham's head, and what goes on inside it, has now become crucial to England's chances. It is hard to believe that when he won his first cap four years ago, under Graham Taylor, he was part of a team then being urged by the bench to "get it over the top".

Yet much of what goes around comes around. Terry Venables and Euro '96 established the attacking partnership of Shering ham and Alan Shearer as the combination most likely to bring about England's qualification for the World Cup under Glenn Hoddle.

But since Hoddle took over the squad, the pair, because of injuries, have played together only three times more. So against Italy Sheringham will be partnered by Ian Wright, who came on for him in Oslo in the summer of 1993 when Taylor desperately reshuf fled his attack as Norway won a World Cup qualifier which more than anything hastened the England manager's departure.

It will be the fifth time the pair have played together, and on each of the last two occasions, against South Africa at Old Trafford and in Nantes in the Tournoi de France, against Italy, Wright has scored.

The Arsenal striker also found the net after coming off the bench to join Sheringham in Taylor's attack in Chorzow, four days before the Norway game, when a 1-1 draw allowed England a brief period of guarded optimism about their chances of reaching the 1994 World Cup in America.

That was Sheringham's first appearance for England, but he did not gain a regular place until Venables took over. Since then, his ability not only to score goals himself but set them up for others has often made him the team's rotor arm.

This was never better demonstrated than in the moment during England's 4-1 victory over Holland at Wembley in the European Championship when he collected a pass from Paul Gascoigne, made as if to shoot, then laid the ball into the path of Shearer, whom he had spotted making a late run to his right. Shearer duly scored with Sheringham adding a second goal of his own soon afterwards.

If Hoddle is seeking to reproduce against Italy the mood and tempo of the 2-0 World Cup win against Georgia in Tblisi last November, then Sheringham will be required to link-up the play in the manner that was sorely missed when Italy won 1-0 at Wembley in February.

Outwardly, Sheringham tends to remain calm on the field, no matter what he may feel like inside. "We will have to stay cool against Italy," he warned. "The last thing you want is to lose a man to a red card and be down to 10 players after, say, 40 minutes. If that happens they'll keep passing the ball and making you work."

Naturally, Sheringham shares the England's squad's upbeat mood, but still manages to rationalise it. "In football, when you're winning, you can always see yourself winning. But when you're losing you can't see yourself winning. At the moment, while we're winning we're feeling good."

The continuation of this "feel good factor" after tomorrow night is going to depend on many things - Seaman's goalkeeping, the organisation and discipline of the defending and the cover provided from midfield by Paul Ince and David Batty, assuming both play.

Paul Gascoigne, kept from the media yesterday by an England coach clearly concerned to separate the new Gazza from the old mania, will also be crucial to England's performance. But it could be the 31-year-old Sheringham who steals the show, the more so if he steals a goal.