Eriksson ready to shuffle players

Eriksson names his squad for the games on October 8 and 12 against Austria and group leaders Poland on Sunday aware that England need two wins to qualify as Group Six winners.

Cruising to Germany 2006 until the 1-0 defeat by Northern Ireland three weeks ago, England are five points behind Poland before their double-header at Old Trafford.

Eriksson's first problem is to find a replacement for Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney whose yellow card in Belfast rules him out of the game against Austria.

Rooney will return to face Poland in a game being refereed by Kim Milton Nielsen, the Dane who sent off the volatile teenager two weeks ago for sarcastically applauding him after being shown a yellow card in a Champions League game.

Peter Crouch, who was left out of Eriksson's last squad due to injury, is available again and would certainly add height to England's attack.

More good news for Eriksson is that Owen is quickly settling back into English football after his stint at Real Madrid, scoring in both his last outings for Newcastle United.

Eriksson needs to resolve a tactical dilemma which dominated discussion of the defeat by Northern Ireland and an unconvincing 1-0 win over Wales, played with unfamiliar 4-5-1/4-3-3 line-ups.

Eriksson has suggested he will revert to a four-man midfield. "I prefer 4-4-2 and so do the players," he said this week. "I've played that way with every team I've coached."

That would herald a return for Joe Cole in England's problem left-midfield role alongside Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard, both of whom are rediscovering top form at club level.

At the back, central defender Sol Campbell is hoping to re-claim his spot from John Terry as Rio Ferdinand's partner after a year disrupted by injuries.

"I'm ready, it's as simple as that," Campbell said this week. "Of course I've missed it ... It has been a long road. The main thing is I'm fit."