WHILE Wednesday night's 2-1 win over Uruguay proved little other than England's enduring inconsistency, the Anfield friendly should finally have settled the debate over whether Jermain Defoe or Darren Bent should be on the plane that flies to Germany on May 15.
After weeks of comparing Defoe's goalscoring instincts with Bent's ability to lead the line, Sven Goran Eriksson saw enough to have arrived at an answer. Forget previous debates about a straightforward choice, this week's win proved there is enough room in the squad for both of them.
Neither striker did much at Anfield to enhance their international credentials. Bent looked understandably nervous on his senior debut, dragging a shot wide of the target in the first half and snatching at a presentable heading opportunity after the break, while Defoe was restricted to just eight minutes of action as England snatched victory from the jaws of defeat.
But, paradoxically, their World Cup prospects still increased. Jamie Carragher and Ledley King have hardly scored a goal in their lives, yet their substitute appearances went a long way to solving Eriksson's attacking dilemma.
By proving they could fill a variety of positions, England's two jack-of-all-trades created the space for both Defoe and Bent to ply theirs.
For more than a year now, the perceived wisdom has been that Eriksson would travel to Germany with three goalkeepers, eight defenders, eight midfielders and four strikers, offering him two players for every position.
He will still have that luxury, it is just that two of those players will cover for more than one position on the park.
Carragher's defensive versatility is such that he can slot in anywhere across the back four. He replaced the injury-plagued Wayne Bridge at left-back on Wednesday night, has played numerous games at right-back for Liverpool in the past, and has arguably been the Premiership's most consistent centre-half this season.
His presence in the squad is bad news for Charlton defender Luke Young, who would otherwise have covered for Gary Neville, and for Bridge, a player who is surely too injury-prone to make the final cut.
Carragher will not start when England kick-off their World Cup campaign against Paraguay on June 10 - despite his recent problems, Rio Ferdinand is assured of his place alongside John Terry - but he has surely leapt ahead of Sol Campbell in the race to be Eriksson's third-choice centre-half.
Campbell's experience means he should still make the squad provided he can prove his fitness before the 23-man travelling party is announced on May 8 but, as well as Carragher, the Arsenal defender is also finding himself overshadowed by King.
The Tottenham man has come to prominence in the last 12 months and, significantly, he is one of the few players who can claim to be almost as versatile as Carragher.
King replaced Terry on Wednesday night, despite his two previous international outings having come in the holding role at the base of midfield.
Michael Carrick is now the preferred player for that role, but King's ball-playing abilities enable him to provide valuable midfield cover as well as offering defensive strength in depth.
With the under-rated Kieron Richardson also able to play in both positions, Eriksson can safely whittle his original midfield eight down to a risk-free seven.
David Beckham, Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, Joe Cole and Shaun Wright-Phillips pick themselves, while Carrick did enough against Uruguay to make his possible place a definite.
Stewart Downing and Kieron Dyer boast dribbling qualities that are in otherwise short supply but, with time running out, neither is fit enough to warrant the gamble that their selection would inevitably be.
Jermaine Jenas offers nothing out of the ordinary, but the former Newcastle midfielder is a solid enough operator to successfully make up the numbers.
With a midfield place unfilled, Eriksson can ensure he is not left short of options in attack. Michael Owen, Wayne Rooney and Peter Crouch are certainties, while Defoe and Bent have done enough to see off the likes of James Beattie and Darius Vassell.
Four years ago, the England boss regretted taking Martin Keown to Japan and Korea instead of an auxiliary striker. This time around, he is ready to atone for his error.
"I have taken four strikers in the past but sometimes I have a tendency to think we should maybe take five," was as close as he came to declaring his hand.
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