WHEN Sven-Goran Eriksson went to The Valley on Saturday what was it for? At a calculated guess it would seem he had decided to run the rule over Darren Bent before naming his squad an hour or two later.

But was there any point of his visit to Charlton? It would seem, after Bent's name was listed among a pool of 23 despite drawing a blank against Aston Villa, that Eriksson already knew the young striker was going to be called up.

There is no disagreement to be had with the Swede over selecting the Addicks hot-shot, but surely the England coach would have been better off sitting in the stands at another ground across the country. St James' Park perhaps? To see Scott Parker.

No, not Eriksson, he has clearly made up his mind on Newcastle's in-form sitting midfielder and there appears to be no chance of Parker heading to the World Cup this summer. If Saturday's no show on Tyneside reiterated anything it was of Eriksson's lack of faith in the former Chelsea midfielder.

Eriksson evidently feels Parker is not worth punting for, as he persists in choosing the likes of Jermaine Jenas and Michael Carrick ahead of the £6.5m man - even though neither of them can play in front of the back four like Parker.

But, with Eriksson's mind so obviously made up, there is one argument that remains open to the floor: England's attacking options.

Love him or loathe him Liverpool's gangly beanpole Peter Crouch will be on the plane to Germany, providing he steers clear of injuries. Alongside him in the forward ranks will be Wayne Rooney and Michael Owen, again, providing they are fit for the finals.

So, with three automatically included in Eriksson's mind, the fourth and final strike option from his World Cup squad remains there for the taking. The problem being that there are not that many to choose from.

Bent, despite his goal-shy display on Saturday, will be given the opportunity to stake his claim on Wednesday night against Uruguay. Failure to turn in an impressive display and he will be forced to look ahead to 2010 instead.

The former Ipswich man, who scored 56 times in 116 starts for the Tractor Boys before moving to The Valley in the summer, is yet to play for his country at senior level, although he has proved himself at Under-21 level where he has scored eight in 12 appearances. Not to mention the 13 he has to name in the Premiership.

Most people's favourite remains Jermain Defoe. The diminutive forward has hardly been given a look in since making an awesome debut in September 2004, when he scored in a 2-1 win over Poland, and when he has he has hardly looked sensational.

Nevertheless he is the nearest thing England have to a Michael Owen when he is in full flow and, if he can play more regularly under Martin Jol at Tottenham, he is the man to turn to if Owen's broken metatarsal does not fully heel in time.

With Emile Heskey deemed useless ever since his soporific display in the European Championships defeat to France two years ago, despite his winner against Sunderland, and Alan Smith crocked for the foreseeable, there is only other one viable candidate.

Crystal Palace's Andrew Johnson scored his 13th of the season in a 4-1 win over Norwich on Saturday and is still admired by Eriksson.

However, there is no way the shrewd Scandinavian will opt for a player banging in the goals in the Championship. It would be seen as a risk that should not be taken.

For that reason, with Owen out, this week's visit of Uruguay to Anfield could well be the last chance saloon for both Bent and Defoe. The next couple of days in training will be vital to both of them.

Two players who have built up reputations as being prolific young marksmen with international careers ahead of them could well be the worst of enemies on England duty this week.

So much so that there could be a serious amount of selfishness from the pair if they partner each other against the South Americans. After all, if one scores and the other doesn't, it could well be the man with his name on the scoresheet that heads to World Cup 2006.