Eriksson's high-risk vision of the future

Internal links

The Brian Viner Interview: Taylor's leap from national side to seaside

England a mere sideshow in the Beckham circus

Ferdinand focuses on test of wits

Eriksson's high-risk vision of the future

McCarthy wooed by fringe players

Caniggia seeks place in Argentina's plans

With the exception of Graeme Le Saux, whose absence continues to bewilder, David Dunn, whose time will come, and Marcus Stewart, who may now have missed the boat, rare is the English footballer who can say he has not been given a chance by Sven Goran Eriksson.

Tonight, against the Netherlands in the Amsterdam ArenA, the England coach is expected to take to 42 the number of players he has capped in just 11 internationals. It would have been even more but a further five players have been kept on the sidelines by court cases (Lee Bowyer, Jon Woodgate and John Terry) and injury (Kieron Dyer and Ray Parlour).

This tally compares to 36 selected in Kevin Keegan's first 11 matches, 33 by Glenn Hoddle and 37 by Terry Venables who, at the same stage, took great umbrage at being told he was scattering caps like confetti. One of his new debutants was Gary Neville, who wins his 50th cap tonight, a fair achievement for a 26-year-old. The others, however, were David Unsworth, Colin Cooper, John Scales and Stan Collymore, which suggests the criticism proved accurate.

In mitigation, Venables had a defensive injury crisis to deal with. Eriksson, while short of midfielders, has no such excuse as he prepares to honour the strikers Darius Vassell and Michael Ricketts and the defenders Ledley King and Wayne Bridge. All will be involved at some point tonight, but it would be a surprise if even one made it to the World Cup.

Eriksson stressed last night they are players for the future which suggests he, like his employers, sees the European Championship of 2004, and the 2006 World Cup, as more fruitful events for England than this summer's World Cup.

Though there are four more friendlies in which to fine-tune his summer side (v Italy, Paraguay, South Korea and Cameroon) Eriksson is taking a risk, not least because the Netherlands are not the most obvious opposition to experiment against. Less than six months ago they beat England more comprehensively then the 2-0 scoreline suggests at White Hart Lane. Jamie Carragher was embarrassed in the midfield holding role, Owen Hargreaves isolated on the left flank and Ashley Cole given a chasing at left-back by Boudewijn Zenden. The team as a whole passed badly, especially from the back, where Rio Ferdinand was badly missed. The Dutch, having since failed to reach the World Cup, and in their first match under Dick Advocaat, will not be short of an incentive to produce a repeat.

Last night, speaking in the team's Japanese-owned hotel (England are getting in the mood off the pitch at least) Eriksson said: "I wanted to see some younger players. I think this is the right game to do so. The closer we get to the World Cup the less you can experiment. By March and April it would be difficult to take in new players. They may be for the future, for after the World Cup, but if you have injuries when it is time to pick the squad for Japan it will be good to have seen these players. I already know more about them." He added: "All four players are doing well in the league. It is a tough test for them but a good one. If they do well tomorrow they are ready, though I do not expect them to be the stars. If they not do well it does not mean they will never play again. They are all players for future, whether that is May or September."

Eriksson's plans have been disrupted by the loss, through a virus, of Trevor Sinclair, who would have started. In his and Darren Anderton's absence he is without a natural left-sided midfielder. Since Eriksson suggested Joe Cole would not start, and would be involved in a central midfield role when he did get on, he will have to choose between Emile Heskey and Paul Scholes. If Heskey plays there, Ricketts will start. It is more likely Scholes will become the 20th man in 32 internationals to fill England's problem position.

An alternative is to play 3-5-2 with Bridge or Chris Powell as wing-back. Eriksson is a 4-4-2 man but, given the forces at his disposal, which include a surfeit of central midfielders, there will be few better opportunities to change. He would not be drawn on his intentions last night but did say: "We do not do a big revolution, we are not coming here to lose".

England have not won in the Netherlands since the 1960s, a statistic which would be daunting were it not for the surprising fact that England have only played here once in 32 years. That was in Rotterdam nine years ago, when goals by Ronald Koeman and Dennis Bergkamp ended England's hopes of reaching the following summer's World Cup.

That night became famous for Graham Taylor's touchline rant after Koeman had escaped dismissal for a professional foul on David Platt at 0-0. A bad night for the English game was capped by fans' hooliganism.

While there is a risk of the latter tonight (England's avoidance of this fixture is not an accident) the result, this time, is incidental. It is the performance that counts and England will look for an indication that the display against Germany in Munich was not, as it is beginning to appear, a one-off, but a harbinger of a genuinely brighter future.

* The BBC has won the right to televise England's World Cup group matches against Argentina, on Friday 7 June, and against Nigeria five days later. ITV1 will screen England's first World Cup game, against Sweden, on Sunday 2 June.