Struggling England

The team of millionaires struggled to beat an average Austrian side who has no chance of qualification. Instead of stream rolling over them, England only managed a goal and it was from the penalty spot....a soft penalty.

In the process, they lost Beckham (red-carded) and Campbell (hamstring).

Lucky for them, Holland beat Czech, gives handed England a spot in the final 32. England has to beat Poland next to make sure that they are seeded to aviod the big teams in the Group Stages.

England is at best mediocre..need to sort out the strikers and the defences in order to have a good showing in Germany 2006.

Lucky for them, there is still time.

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England 1-0 Austria: A qualified success

Rio Ferdinand is used to international exiles due to a loss of concentration, having spent eight months on the sidelines after his missed drugs test and been ruled out the Euro 2004 finals as a result.

However, his latest exclusion was rather shorter. Just 64 minutes to be precise, before Sol Campbell's fitness problems returned and Ferdinand was handed the chance to win back his place ahead of the World Cup finals.

As England attempt to celebrate qualification for the tournament in the best possible way, by topping their group with victory against Poland, Ferdinand will be reunited alongside Terry in central defence.

And as Sven-Goran Eriksson's mind turns to his intended starting line-up in Germany next summer, he must be hoping Ferdinand responds to this latest wake-up call with rather more astuteness than the last.

'When you take decisions like this, with great players who have never sat on the bench before, you can get two different reactions,' said Eriksson.

'One is head down or even worse. The other is the opposite - 'I will show you that you're wrong'. And Rio will show me that I was wrong, I'm 100% sure of that.'

All England fans must hope he is right, as Ferdinand has allowed his natural talent to be wasted, becoming too complacent in possession and lacking concentration in defence.

However, he was up to the task as a substitute against Austria, holding firm alongside Terry amid a 10-man rearguard action after David Beckham's dismissal threatened a slender lead provided by Frank Lampard's penalty.

Eriksson is well aware that while Campbell and Terry are relatively similar, embodying the physical might and mental fight of English football, Ferdinand offers - when on form - a different dimension in being able to bring the ball out of defence.

Indeed, unless injuries intervene, Eriksson has just one other meaningful decision to make over his line-up ahead of next summer, with Joe Cole the player most at risk of losing his place.

Against Austria, Cole gave possibly his best performance for England since the 4-0 win against Northern Ireland. And yet.

There is still a nagging doubt over the lack of balance in the side, especially when England were deprived of Ashley Cole's left-footed crossing ability.

Kieran Richardson is one alternative, and should at least play regularly for United this season, albeit at left-back, while Stewart Downing is another if he can recapture form after injury.

There is always a chance of Eriksson experimenting with a holding midfielder, such as Owen Hargreaves or - as against Austria after Beckham's dismissal - Ledley King.

Otherwise, the team effectively picks itself, with Wayne Rooney returning after suspension against Austria to provide the much-needed creative spark against Poland.

'Of course it will have an effect. You can't substitute Wayne Rooney, there aren't two of them in England, maybe not in Europe,' observed Eriksson.

The real question, however, is in getting the best out of the players - a feat which Eriksson has not yet achieved this season, even if he was, as ever, applying a positive gloss.

'After the game against Northern Ireland, everyone was down but although it wasn't always brilliant and we can play better, they did an excellent job considering the last game,' he said.

Peter Crouch did his prospects of a squad place no harm with his first-half display, with a series of astute flicks and through-balls, even if he looked decidedly more dangerous on the ground than in the air.

Michael Owen and Luke Young almost capitalised before Owen was held back by Paul Scharner and, with Beckham having given up penalty responsibilities after three consecutive misses, Lampard made no mistake from the spot.

England were harshly denied another penalty, with Owen seemingly brought down by Andreas Dober, while Crouch headed an inviting chance straight at Jurgen Macho.

However, Austria offered little penetration until the second half, when England were relieved to see Roland Linz hit the bar with a lob after a weak header by Terry.

Worse was to follow. Beckham caught Andreas Ibertsberger with his leading arm in an aerial challenge and was booked, ruling him out of the Poland game with his fourth booking of the campaign.

Just two minutes later, he flung himself into a challenge on the same player on the edge of
England's area, picked up his second caution of the game and was dismissed.

Beckham argued, with some justification, he pulled out of the tackle but there was an element or recklessness in his attitude and Rooney must have seen the irony of the man who told him to calm down in Belfast being dismissed himself.

Without Beckham, England circled the wagons and finally played as a team, albeit concentrating only on defence as King bolstered the midfield, Ferdinand replaced Campbell and Richardson came on for Owen.

They held out - just - but the real drama was only just starting, with Holland's evening win in Prague ensuring England qualified automatically for the finals.

Winning it is something completely different, however. To achieve that, England need something of a renaissance - just like Ferdinand.