By the left: twin answer to a singular need

Bridge: 'Dad tried to get me to kick with my right, but I didn't take any notice'

Gordon Strachan reckons he would make the ideal son-in-law, Terry Cooper, a celebrated convert from the left-wing a few decades ago, thinks he should have won 10 international caps by now and Giovanni Trapattoni, the coach of Italy, termed him a "grande surprise". Wayne Bridge still claims he is coming to terms with training alongside the likes of Michael Owen and David Beckham, let alone playing in the same World Cup team, but that touching sense of self- deprecation has not stopped Sven Goran Eriksson from considering the Southampton full-back a potential solution to one half of England's left-of-centre dilemma.

The left side has been the exception to Eriksson's discouragement of positional experiment. Emile Heskey could yet be an option on the left of midfield, but, since the concern over Kieron Dyer forced his hand, the Swede has openly voiced the belief that Bridge and Ashley Cole, ostensibly rivals for the left-back place, could be used in tandem. There is logic behind the idea. Bridge is the more reliable defender, Cole the more vivacious attacker; both have played left-wing and left-midfield in their junior days. Most pertinently, they are the only two genuinely left-footed players in the squad.

"I do occasionally use my right foot," says Bridge. "I'm right-handed, but I've always kicked a ball with my left foot. Don't ask me why. My dad tried to get me to kick with my right, but I didn't take any notice." Thank goodness for that. Bridge's swift elevation from the Under-21 ranks has been due, at least in part, to the dearth of worthy rivals for the position, once the limitations of Chris Powell, the initial surprise incumbent, were exposed at international level. Yet only those who have watched Bridge regularly ply his trade for Southampton could have anticipated the ease with which the 21-year-old would – excuse the pun – bridge the gap. You have a sense that Bridge himself is still in a state of shock.

"One moment I was concentrating on getting into the Under-21 team for the _European Championships, the next I was changing alongside David Beckham and Michael Owen," he says. "To come this far so fast is unbelievable." His first international shirt, earned against Holland, is framed, signed and on the wall of his Winchester home, a proud memento of his debut, but also a daily reminder of a heartening and old-fashioned fairytale. When Owen was prancing through the Argentine defence in St Etienne, Bridge was watching television at home, in possession of his first professional contract and still several months away from making his Premier League debut. Ironically, that came against Liverpool on the left side of midfield. He has barely missed a game since, though it was not until the following year that Dave Jones, in desperation more than with inspiration, persuaded Bridge to play full-back one afternoon against Wimbledon.

"We won 3-1 and I enjoyed myself," Bridge recalls. "I used to be a tricky left-winger in my youth-training days, but I did play some games in midfield. As a full-back, my instinct was to get forward as much as I could, but I used to work quite hard, even as a winger. I've been lucky, every one of the managers I've had at Southampton – Dave Jones, Glenn Hoddle and Stuart Gray – has believed in my ability. Now Gordon Strachan's come in, it's no different. He plays me week in and week out and you can't ask for more."

Strachan's character reference is more effusive. "He wants to be a footballer as opposed to a celebrity, and that's refreshing," the Southampton manager says. "He's exceptionally quick, he's got tremendous stamina and his ball skills are no embarrassment to him. He's also quiet, polite and conscientious."

But it was Trapattoni who issued the most telling compliment. "They have refined technique," he said of Bridge and Cole after Italy's 2-1 defeat of England at Elland Road. Coming from such a technically obsessed nation as Italy, that was an encouraging reflection of the new club-based academy system from which both players have emerged.

Even the announcement of Bridge's inclusion in the World Cup squad could have been taken from the pages of Tom Brown's Schooldays. "The secretary came running out on to the training ground to tell me," says Bridge. "What was nice was how pleased the other players were for me. I've really noticed how the whole club have enjoyed it. The fans were singing for me non-stop."

The last Southampton player to make a World Cup squad was Peter Shilton, but, just in case the bigger teams start brandishing their chequebooks, Bridge is under contract until 2006, a Hampshire boy without any discernible yearning for the bright lights. His ambitions for the next month, he says, are to push Cole hard for the left-back spot and enjoy himself. "I've not even thought about who I might be facing," he adds with a smile. "I'm still thinking about the players I'm going with."

Cole: 'If you look at the best full-backs in the world, they could all be wingers'

By Alex Hayes

Somewhere near the top of Sven Goran Eriksson's list of Ten Football Commandments lies the all-important: "Thou shall not select a player out of position". But desperate times call for desperate measures, and the growing feeling is that the Swede may be about to challenge the scriptures.

No prizes for guessing that the problem area is, as ever, the left side of midfield. Newcastle United's Kieron Dyer, who happens to be right-footed anyway, was favouriteto start there this summer but, following the injury he sustained last weekend at Southampton, Eriksson has been forced to consider other options while giving the player extra time to recover. The favoured solution would appear to involve moving England's regular left-back, Ashley Cole, forward a notch, and replacing him in the back four with Southampton's Wayne Bridge. This is a risky ploy, not least because Cole and Bridge would be forming a very young and inexperienced partnership down one flank.

Not surprisingly, though, the Arsenal player says he is equipped for the challenge. "Yeah, definitely, I think I could handle the responsibility," Cole said on the day the England squad departed for Dubai. "I am not saying I could do a better job than any of the others. I'd be really sorry if I had to replace a mate like Kieron, because I think he's a good player and, if I was the England manager, I'd definitely play him in the team every time. But I'd be delighted to play left-midfield and I don't see any reason why Wayne couldn't fit in at left-back. Obviously, I'd say yes to playing anywhere if it meant I would be in the starting XI, but I really do think I can fill that slot. Most of us are quite versatile."

Eriksson will need more than enthusiasm and willingness to turn a defender into a midfielder in a period of just over three weeks. That said, though, Cole is someone who has always enjoyed venturing upfield, and Chelsea's Graeme Le Saux has shown that it is perfectly possible for a left-back with decent pace to play in a more forward role.

"I definitely know it can be done, but I'm not stupid – I'm aware that it would be a tough job against the world's best players," Cole conceded, before adding: "The one good thing is that I like joining in attacks anyway, so I would know roughly what to do. Attacking is something which I think is very important in a modern defender. If you look at the best full-backs in the world at the moment, they could all be wingers. Guys like Bixente Lizarazu and Roberto Carlos are players who can tackle and dribble. They prove you can do both jobs at the same time."

Cole's natural attacking instincts can be explained by the fact that he actually started his career as a striker. He then moved over to the left wing, where he played for many of his teenage years. "I used to play up front, so it's not like I'd be totally lost in midfield," he said. "I haven't played there for a while, but it's not been decades or anything."

It was only three years ago that the Arsenal youth-team managers, Liam Brady and Don Howe, decided to test Cole as a defender. Having initially struggled to cope with the sudden change, Cole was sent on loan to Crystal Palace for six months at the back end of the 1999-2000 season to learn his new trade. He has not looked back since. "That was a really important stage in my grooming," the 21-year-old says. "I came back from Palace a different person."

This season has been another character-building one for the young defender. He was blamed for the first Greek goal in the World Cup qualifier at Old Trafford, the 2-2 draw which enabled England to book their ticket for the finals, and then picked up a medial-ligament injury which kept him out for nearly three months.

"I've improved no end," he said, "both on and off the pitch. This season, in particular, has been a great learning curve for me. I've been in the first team all year, picked up the odd niggle, learned to cope with mistakes, and generally found out what a full season as first-choice left-back means. Like a lot of the England players, I'm still young and learning, but I'm not afraid and I feel positive."

Cole added: "Obviously, me and all the Arsenal players are on a real high at the moment, and we're hoping that we can carry that form forward with England in Japan and Korea. The players are all focused, and I'm confident that, even with the injuries we've had, we can go on to perform well over there."

Eriksson will be keeping his fingers crossed that Dyer can recover in time to keep his place in the squad and, more importantly, the team. But, should the Newcastle player fail to regain full fitness, at least the England manager knows he has a viable alternative.

"I've even started thinking like a midfielder," Cole joked. "Just in case."