England's Owen will start against Germany

Michael Owen is certain to start England’s World Cup match against Germany following his goal on Saturday against France.

Owen had been left on the substitutes bench for the friendly match against the World and European champions, a move that shocked many at the time. Coach Kevin Keegan had opted to play Andy Cole as a lone striker but it took a late equalizer by substitute Owen to grab some honour for England.

Now Keegan has admitted that Owen, who has a habit of scoring crucial goals, is just too important to leave on the substitutes bench.

Keegan’s formation on Saturday evening was a line up of four centre backs, Beckham playing in his dream role as central midfielder and playmaker and Andy Cole upfront with Paul Scholes playing just behind him.

The formation did appear to work for some of the time although Keegan may decide to play Owen alongside Andy Cole or even to drop Cole altogether and play Owen as a lone striker. What is apparent from Owens appearance on Saturday and recent games for Liverpool, is that the player is virtually back to full fitness which can only be good news for an England team still reeling from the disastrous Euro 2000 campaign.