Soccer: England learn virtue of patience

England were given a training ground lesson in patient football yesterday, when possession and careful passing were the order of the day, and manager Sven Goran Eriksson will hope the changes against Sweden tomorrow will eradicate the errors of last week.

Wayne Rooney is back and Owen Hargreaves takes Steven Gerrard's place as England experiment once again with the concept of a holding midfielder.

Possession, passing and a build-up that does not rely on long punts forward will be exactly what Michael Owen was hoping for as he looks for his first goal of these World Cup finals.

The Newcastle striker said yesterday he hoped Rooney's return would reduce the number of speculative passes sent up towards Peter Crouch.

"I need the ball in the box to come alive," was the message from England's current leading goalscorer.

Eriksson took the unusual step yesterday of officially announcing that Rooney would be in the side to face Sweden in Cologne tomorrow, and it is understood that Hargreaves will take the place of Gerrard, who is dangerously placed on a yellow card.

But it is the shape of the team that may take some by surprise and is likely to raise the question once again of whether Eriksson yet knows England's best formation.

The Swede is also understood to be toying with the idea of giving Frank Lampard a rest and deploying Jermaine Jenas alongside Hargreaves, although other members of his backroom staff have urged caution.

Tottenham midfielder Jenas has not had a minute of cup football yet and, with England qualified for the next stage, this may also be Eriksson's last chance to blood 17-year-old Theo Walcott.

Switching to a narrow diamond formation, he is expected to play Hargreaves as the defensive midfielder with, probably, Lampard to the left and David Beckham on the right, which will give Joe Cole a more liberated role behind Rooney and Owen.

Profligacy in possession will not be tolerated

In training, in a session led by Steve McClaren, who will replace Eriksson as manager after the tournament, the emphasis was on patience in possession - a virtue England have been sorely lacking of late.

The players were told in no uncertain terms that the aimless long balls, and profligacy in possession - as seen during the Trinidad and Tobago game, which England struggled to win last week - would not be tolerated this time.

A lot of the build-up was channelled through central defender Rio Ferdinand, who is expected to have greater responsibility in directing and initiating England's movement.

For Owen, the new team shape is sure to be crucial. With Rooney alongside him, it would appear that Eriksson hopes the 26-year-old will recapture some of the form that has eluded him since breaking a metatarsal bone on New Year's Eve.

"You would think there would not be as many longer balls because Wayne and myself are not that tall," Owen said. "It may encourage players to keep it on the deck a bit more. I am as sharp as normal, but you are just not seeing it.

"We are not firing on all cylinders and I am the person who takes most of the brunt if we are not playing well.

"As I said after Trinidad, there is no point in me changing my game to try something different. If we are playing well, then I will look as good as I have ever done."

Gary Neville's calf injury means that Jamie Carragher will be given his second run-out at right back and Eriksson hopes he will also be able to find the time to give Tottenham winger Aaron Lennon a role in the game.

As for Rooney, Eriksson said: "The medical people say he can play more than 45 minutes, so if that is the case then it is better he starts than he comes on. I'm very happy and he's very happy, and it's very good for England."

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