Bullish Owen confident England can pass acid test

Liverpool's Michael Owen, shown here in action May 15, said of England's team, "We have got a lot of experience in the team and I think that is going to stand us in very good stead."

England's Euro 2004 preparations enter the final stretch here on Monday against a background of rising optimism that Sven-Goran Eriksson's squad can finally end the country's 38-year wait to win a major international tournament.

A week in the sunshine of Sardinia has left the players rested, relaxed and raring to go with just two final warm-up matches -- against Japan on Tuesday and Iceland on Saturday -- now between them and Portugal.

During their week-long training camp on the Mediterranean island, Eriksson made a point of repeatedly underlining how close England had come to winning the World Cup two years ago, when an injury-hit squad lost in the quarter-finals to eventual winners Brazil.

The Swede's emphasis on the construction of confidence and self-belief appears to have paid off, judging by the bullish tone of the comments emanating from some of the players.

"We have got a lot of experience in the team and I think that is going to stand us in very good stead," said Liverpool striker Michael Owen.

"All our main players are between their mid-20s and 30 -- the perfect age to go and win a tournament."

There is a theory that these European championships may have come just a little bit too early for England's relatively young squad and that a better chance of glory may await them in the next World Cup in Germany in two years time.

But with Nicky Butt, David Beckham, Paul Scholes and Gary Neville all approaching their 30th birthdays, a sizeable section of Eriksson's current first team may well be in decline by then and Owen believes England are capable of delivering this summer.

"All the successful teams are at their peak and have played together for a long time and I certainly feel this England squad is the same now.

"We are all reaching our peak and this is going to be the acid test for us."

England's cause has certainly been helped by the fact that injuries have been concentrated in an area where Eriksson has the greatest depth of resources -- in the centre of defence.

Rio Ferdinand will miss the tournament through suspension and Gareth Southgate and Jonathan Woodgate are both ruled out by injuries. But provided Sol Campbell and John Terry stay fit, England should not have too much to worry about in that department.

With Aston Villa striker Darius Vassell having shaken off a hamstring strain, Eriksson will have a full squad to pick from for Tuesday night's match against Japan at the City of Manchester stadium.

The early conclusion of the English Premiership title battle has also afforded Eriksson's squad an extra period of recovery time.

It is a situation in marked contrast to what the Swede had to contend with in the run-up to the last World Cup, when Steven Gerrard and Gary Neville were both ruled out and Beckham was involved in a frantic race against time to recover from a broken bone in his right foot.

The England captain healed sufficiently to play but his lack of full fitness restricted his influence.

Two years on it is Beckham's mental state rather than the state of his metatarsal that is pre-occupying the nation.

The only sour note of the week in Sardinia came when the Real Madrid midfielder attempted to have certain newspapers and broadcasters excluded from his press briefings because of their coverage of his alleged marital infidelities.

The storm over Beckham's reported affair with his former assistant has died down. But the extent of the psychological scars it must have left may not become fully apparent until England take on France in their crucial opening match in Lisbon on June 13.

He certainly appeared distracted as Real ended their trophy-less season with a disastrous run of defeats in the Spanish league.

But Gary Neville, the player Beckham is closest to, believes his former Manchester United team-mate is capable of shutting everything else out once he pulls on an England shirt.

"I don't think anybody need worry about David on that score," he said. "When he goes on to a football pitch, that is all that matters to him."