England's faith in Owen

No question
Steve McLaren, who is working as Sven-Göran Eriksson's No2 at UEFA EURO 2004™, said there was no question of leaving Owen out of the game at the Estádio da Luz, where England need just a point to guarantee a place in the quarter-finals.

Hargreaves doubt
England look certain to name the same side that earned a 3-0 victory over Switzerland on Thursday. Owen Hargreaves missed training today with a stomach upset but it is hoped he can still take his place on the substitutes' bench.

Butt hopes
Meanwhile Nicky Butt, who had been ruled out of the tournament after damaging knee ligaments in training last week, might yet have a part to play. "He has been in the gym, jogging and running and is already up to three-quarter pace," McLaren said. "Hopefully we will last the two weeks and Nicky will play a part."

Invaluable
McLaren said the atmosphere in the squad was first-class and nobody was losing faith with Owen despite comment in English newspapers that he should be left out of the team. "That has never been on the agenda or up for discussion," he added. "Michael has proved invaluable to England in the past and he's playing a major part in the games and I think he will only get better.

'World-class'
"Admittedly Michael would be disappointed that he has not scored a goal and that he's probably not played as well as he would have liked but he is world-class and gains the respect of every defender he plays against. We are very, very hopeful that he will score goals."

Getting better
McLaren added that his experience at tournaments had taught him that the triumphant team at the end is not necessarily that which is the best at the start. "Hopefully we can be the team that gets better and better as the tournament goes on," he said.