King a contender to fill rare vacancy in Team Eriksson

Ferdinand's suspension gives young Tottenham defender chance to force way into England starting line-up

Although it may not have been obvious in the second half on Wednesday night, when the substitutes' board was flashing like one of the Algarve's fabled lighthouses, Sven Goran Eriksson's England team is a highly stable unit. For all the comings and goings under a manager who has now used 57 players, the Swede's preferred first XI changes little.

Since the World Cup David James has replaced David Seaman in goal, Wayne Rooney has emerged and Rio Ferdinand been banned. The only other change is the switch from a flat 4-4-2 to a diamond midfield, a development which has eased but not solved the left flank problem.

That is the context in which to put the draw with Portugal. Eriksson uses friendlies to find options in the likely event of injury afflicting his A team, not to unearth new members of it.

Thus he outwardly remains unconcerned by Paul Scholes' failure to score for England (a drought now stretching back 25 matches to June 2001), the poor linking between Wayne Rooney and Michael Owen, and Nicky Butt's inability to win a place at Manchester United.

"I thought Butt did very well considering he has played so little. If he can go along as he did last night then I am happy," said Eriksson. He added: "Rooney and Owen know each other and are very, very good technical footballers. As for Scholes, I do not have to worry about him." Eriksson does, though, fret over injuries which is why he was pleased to see Ledley King seize his opportunity. Ferdinand's suspension has created a rare vacancy in Team Eriksson and while John Terry is favourite to fill it Eriksson's apparent lack of faith in Gareth Southgate, and Jonathan Woodgate's injuries, mean a squad place is available.

"King didn't make a mistake and showed he's ready for big international games," said Eriksson. "He has a chance. I will go to Tottenham a lot of times before the end of the season." Eriksson said King did not have to play in defence for Tottenham to win a place but the player himself was less sure. "Maybe I'll have to talk to [Spurs' acting manager] David Pleat about my role," he said. "I enjoy playing in midfield but to get the best out of me it may be something I'll have to look at."

Pleat might not be hard to convince. As James said: "If Ledley had been playing at the back for Spurs maybe they wouldn't have conceded so many goals." King added: "It was quite difficult going back to defence when you have been in midfield all season but I see myself as a central defender so it was something I had to deal with. If I'm going to get into the squad it will be as a defender. I've not thought about getting in as a midfielder as I don't feel I'm good enough."

Though Eriksson is prepared to persevere with experienced internationals, like Butt, when they are struggling at club level, he is stricter with newcomers. In England's last match against Portugal, a similar draw at Villa Park in September 2002, David Dunn made his debut and his lively performance drew rich praise from Eriksson who described him as "a very good, very creative player". Dunn, his club form disrupted by injuries and a transfer, has not been in an England squad since.

However, Southgate, who began his career in midfield, said: "In the long term it will do Ledley good playing in the middle of the park. He's a young player so it is good for him to experience different positions."

Maybe the same will apply to Frank Lampard, currently pushed on to the left for England. Lampard did well defensively but, despite featuring in the last nine England games, is yet to influence internationals from the position the way Steven Gerrard does. "I prefer the centre," Lampard said, "but I feel comfortable on the left now. I know I can be effective there for England."

Not that he was the only player out of position. David Beckham admitted it was "weird" being back on the right adding: "I had to remember how to cross the ball." Eriksson now has one more friendly, against Sweden in Gothenberg next month, before naming his squad in mid-May. He then has fixtures against Iceland and Japan in Manchester in which to hone his team before returning to Portugal for the finals. For the likes of King and Lampard the challenge between now and then is to stay fit, and in form.

Portugal (4-2-3-1): Ricardo (Sporting Lisbon); Ferreira (Porto), Couto (Lazio), Andrade (Deportivo La Coruna), Jorge (Sporting Lisbon); Costinha (Porto), Petit (Benfica); Figo (Real Madrid), Rui Costa (Milan), Simao (Benfica); Pauleta (Paris SG). Substitutes: Monteira (Benfica) for Ferreira, 46; Deco (Porto) for Costinha, 46; Valente (Porto) for Jorge, 46; Ronaldo (Manchester Utd) for Simao, 46; Mendes (Benfica) for Rui Costa, 61; Boa Morte (Fulham) for Figo, 66; Carvalho (Porto) for Andrade, 74; Almeida (U Leiria) for Pauleta, 78; Viana (Newcastle Utd) for Petit, 83.

England (4-4-2): James (Man City); P Neville (Man Utd), King (Tottenham), Southgate (Middlesbrough), A Cole (Arsenal); Beckham (Real Madrid), Butt (Man Utd), Scholes (Man Utd), Lampard (Chelsea); Owen (Liverpool), Rooney (Everton). Substitutes: Bridge (Chelsea) for A Cole, 17; Mills (Middlesbrough/Leeds) for P Neville, h-t; J Cole (Chelsea) for Lampard, h-t; Dyer (Newcastle) for Scholes, h-t; Heskey (Liverpool) for Owen, 71; Smith (Leeds) for Rooney, 71; Hargreaves (Bayern Munich) for Bridge, 86; Carragher (Liverpool) for Butt, 86; Jenas (Newcastle) for Beckham, 86.

Referee: V Kassai (Hungary).