Figo set for landmark and England

By Kevin Ashby

The relative merits of the Portugal and England squads ahead of UEFA EURO 2004™ may provide the primary focus during tomorrow night's friendly international at the Algarve stadium but the sub-plots are equally intriguing.

Psychological advantage
Luís Figo will become only the second Portuguese player, after Fernando Couto, to win 100 caps as the hosts attempt to score a psychological advantage over an England side captained by his Real Madrid CF team-mate David Beckham with the two nations possible quarter-final opponents. The nations last met competitively at UEFA EURO 2000™, Figo's long-range strike sparking a 3-2 Portuguese comeback victory in Eindhoven.

Scolari relaxed
Home coach Luiz Felipe Scolari is relaxed with the finals looming near. "They will not be the toughest opponents that we will face, and this will not be the most important test prior to the finals. But one way or the other, every match has its own importance, because it helps to detect some mistakes and make the necessary ammendments."

'Excellent players'
He added of England: "They have a tactical system which has been producing results, excellent players and a team which has been improving every year. They are among the main contenders for the finals." The Brazilian will use a 4-2-3-1 system with Ricardo in goal. Paulo Ferreira is at right-back with the other defensive positions nailed by captain Couto, Jorge Andrade and Rui Jorge.

Terry out
Costinha and Petit will anchor a midfield in which Simão Sabrosa supplements the skill of Figo and Rui Costa. Pauleta is the undisputed spearhead, yet Scolari is likely to give the tall UD Leiria forward Hugo Almeida a run against an England central defence further weakened by today's withdrawal of John Terry. Sol Campbell had already pulled out.

In-form Owen
Short of options, Sven-Göran Eriksson is tipped to deploy Gareth Southgate and Ledley King. In the absence of brother Gary, Phil Neville should play at right-back, while Frank Lampard will hope to further his cause in midfield. Wayne Rooney, short of goals, and Michael Owen, back in them, are the forwards.

'King is ready'
Eriksson admitted: "We are a bit unlucky to be without four extremely good central defenders - not only in England, but the world. But it will be good to see other players. I think Ledley King is ready, but we will see tomorrow."

Fan-friendly policing
With the opening game between Portugal and Greece 115 days away, Portuguese police will use Wednesday's fixture as a trial run for the fan-friendly policy they will adopt in June. They will hope incidents on the pitch provide the headlines tomorrow, setting the trend for a summer festival of football.

Additional reporting by Rui Matos Pereira