Pace poses problems as England expects

Denmark v England - today, 12.30 No amount of Danegeld will buy England a place in the World Cup quarter-finals in Niigata today. Sven-Goran Eriksson's team will have to outplay, outwit, outlast and certainly outpace Denmark in the Big Swan Stadium to make them go away.

It is a difficult, though far from insurmountable, hurdle for an England side which has had only 72 hours to recover from the draw with Nigeria in the Osaka heat, but which should be sufficiently refreshed to take on Morten Olsen's team in a game that will take place in much cooler conditions.

Each side will be seeking to surprise the other through quick counter-attacks. Little will be conceded in midfield, and England certainly cannot risk the generosity they showed in the second half of their opening match, when poor passing made a present of the ball to the Swedes.

On the evidence of the inspired victory against Argentina and the duller, though equally controlled, performance against Nigeria, England appear to have got such habits out of their system. Certainly their coach hopes so.

"It's the knockout stage and we must be very aggressive," Eriksson said last night. "We must not give Denmark time to find a shape and keep the ball; they're very good at doing that. Denmark have a quick team, especially the wide players, who attack a lot and can beat people."

In Dennis Rommedahl, the Danes have one of the fastest attackers in the finals and, clearly, Eriksson is concerned about the threat this will pose to his left flank. Bobby Robson, who signed Rommedahl for PSV Eindhoven, once described him as "a pigeon-catcher".

If Ashley Cole's calf injury poses the slightest doubt this morning, Wayne Bridge may start at left-back and, though Eriksson has been lavish in praising Trevor Sinclair, he has the option of bringing in Kieron Dyer on the left of midfield.

Two changes on the same wing, however, would be drastic, especially in a team which has done so well since Sinclair replaced the injured Owen Hargreaves early in the Argentina game. And in any case, Eriksson promised last night that there would be "no revolutions" in his team selection.

England will adhere to the pattern which frustrated Argentina, with Nicky Butt and Paul Scholes setting out to break up Danish movements in midfield and, behind, Rio Ferdinand and Sol Campbell blocking the routes to goal.

Yet, since Olsen will look to get Rommedahl and Jesper Gronkjaer behind England's full-backs anyway, the threat posed by Ebbe Sand and the in-form Jon Dahl Tomasson is more likely to follow crosses and pincer moves than anything through the middle. Even more this time will depend on Danny Mills and Cole, if he is fit.

In attack, England are likely to have to deal with problems similar to those presented by Sweden's stiflingly efficient defending. Unlike the Danes, Eriksson's team have yet to make a habit of scoring in open play and, until Michael Owen enjoys the sort of service he received against Germany in Munich, this is unlikely.

"I am not worried about Owen," Eriksson keeps insisting. That may be so, but the scarcity of the sort of passes which might set Owen up for goals is a concern. The striker's nearest misses, against Argentina and Nigeria, have each followed astute balls from Butt.

If Denmark's defence is to be seriously disturbed, David Beckham's distribution will need to achieve more of its usual accuracy and imagination. However close Beckham is to full match fitness, his passing, crosses and free-kicks have been way below standard.

For Owen to thrive, Emile Heskey, too, will have to provide a more effective attacking presence than just muscle and pace. Denmark's central defenders, Martin Laursen and Rene Henriksen, will use Heskey as a launching pad for counter-attacks unless his control and vision improve.

The confidence of each team is high after outstanding victories in the first round. England's win over Argentina took the favourites to the brink of elimination and Denmark completed the downfall of France.

Danish buoyancy was summed up yesterday by Tomasson when he declared that: "We have a lot of quality and a lot of belief. We beat France, so why not England?" Olsen was slightly more guarded. "England have to be the favourites tomorrow," he insisted. "They have a very good team. But the pressure will be on England nonetheless. They may be the bigger footballing nation, yet on the day anything is possible. We do not have a key player, but we do have a good collective spirit.

"You see it in our training and, after beating the world champions, we are very confident. We may be underdogs tomorrow but I'm sure the boys will manage it."

Eriksson made his usual plea for patience and the need to get every England player fully focused on the job in hand. "It's going to be a very quick game," he predicted, "but you have to be patient and wait for the right possibilities. Otherwise you will lose the ball and they'll score on the counter-attack. Yet we should not be afraid just because it is now a knockout tournament. We're not going to change our style; there is no reason for that."

A narrow win for England is a distinct possibility and certainly going out to Denmark now after beating Argentina would be a big anti-climax. Victory might mean England having to face Brazil in the quarter-finals, beyond which anything would be a bonus.