James Lawton: Eriksson rides lucky streak as Gerrard makes point

There is no end, for the bizarre moment at least, to the dangerous but so far mercifully preserved fortune of Sven Goran Eriksson. Today, if his countrymen of Sweden had enjoyed any justice, or a moment or two of greater calm when the hard, destructive work had been done, it is he who would be contemplating the roaring progress of Germany in front of a nation obsessed with their chances of winning a fourth World Cup.

England's coach survived for the softer option against Ecuador on Sunday. It should be a matter for some fleeting celebration - and certainly the hordes of English support were provoked into a deep-throated version of the national anthem - but the cheers could not be other than hollow here beside the Rhine.

Even when disaster rises around his neck like a unstoppable tide - on this occasion one of the utmost poignancy, which appears to have left Michael Owen out of this World Cup and has provoked grave fears about his future as one of the world's leading strikers - there is usually a shaft of light, a possibility of something to be retrieved. But there really is no avoiding the fact that England are inhabiting a half-world now, one that seems as though it could fall apart at any moment.

So it was when his team scrambled a draw, one that would have been beyond them if Eriksson had not torn up another master plan. This one was to leave Steven Gerrard seething on the bench. It didn't survive the chaos that came to a day that started out intriguingly and finished in both tragedy and deep doubt.

After the lion's roar of Ghana and the power and beauty of Argentina and Spain, there was the prospect of a visit from those other denizens of the big football jungle ... the cat and the mouse. Luis Fernandez, the coach of a hitherto relentless Ecuador, inevitably sparked such downbeat speculation when he left five of his first-teamers out of the Group A battle with the momentum-charged hosts Germany.

The prize for victory was the likelihood of avoiding England, favourites to win Group B, but Fernandez seemed to be saying that he could scarcely care less. Germany would have the crowd and the growing national belief and perhaps any official benefits of the doubt; why not wave the Fatherland through, and take your chance with the underwhelming English - or Swedes?

Who could question the validity of the coach's gut feeling. Eriksson had made his own contribution to the debate with his decision to leave out Gerrard, apparently because of the risk of another yellow card which would have ruled him out of the first knock-out round. It was a move mocked by Sweden's Lars Lagerback, who had four men on yellow cards. But he opted to try to build his team for sudden-death action and let the cards fall where they might.

Reality came crowding in soon enough. England don't play cat and mouse. At their best they are about a rather less subtle game, more about physical power and some sweeping individual talent, and if England weren't at their best, in the first half they were profoundly better than in their opening matches against Paraguay and Trinidad & Tobago. This didn't automatically catapult them into the upper reaches of a tournament that has produced some stunning levels of touch and imagination, but it was unquestionably a point of hope, a surging of blood that had seemed to be congealing around a failure of both belief and technique.

Unfortunately the Swedes, as they so frequently do when England provide the opposition, also felt some stirrings of their own. It meant that what was supposed to be a smooth passage into knock-out play, against those Ecuadorians considered so much less formidable than Jürgen Klinsmann's Germans, became another desperate dogfight. It didn't help that England's defence suffered something close to a collective nervous breakdown in the second half.

It meant that it was impossible to shake the idea that whatever England do in this World Cup, the suspicion is that it will not be most notable for its composure.

England's need for some statement of serious intent, a raising of their fists against the growing sense that this is a World Cup beyond their reach, almost even their passing involvement, became quite huge in that moment when Owen crumpled to the turf with a look of both fear and anguish on his face.

There were just a few points of encouragement beyond the despair of Owen, who eight years ago in France - it seems hardly possible that it was that long ago - was a glory of the English game. One of them was the freedom of Wayne Rooney's running before he was withdrawn in the 70th minute. Another was the continued spark of Joe Cole, a player of both talent and moral courage here last night.

But the inspiration of Rooney and the nerve and quickness of Cole were not enough to close the huge fissures of confidence in this English team. So Eriksson, another smart tactical invention threatened with ruin, revoked his plan to protect Gerrard. The Liverpool man was brought on for Rooney ... with David Beckham just about anonymous, the English coach plainly felt his team were suffering from a deficit of both purpose - and a major player.

Gerrard made his point as his friend and team-mate Owen considered the pain of a possible six- month absence and a new deluge of the doubts that have surrounded his presence here. If England's World Cup campaign proceeds, and we are told it still retains some hope, it is as surely as perilous as the state of Owen's career. It is a pursuit of glory under the harshest leash, The problem, above all, is a lack of cohesive leadership.

This is a team in search not only of consistent form but also itself. There were times last night when the scent was more than elusive. Indeed, the question had to be asked again: under Sven Goran Eriksson has it ever truly existed?