Sven-Goran Eriksson has leapt to the defence of under-pressure England central defender Rio Ferdinand and praised his performances during the current campaign.

Ferdinand has struggled to attain the high standards of previous seasons and was at fault for at least one of the two goals conceded by Manchester United in Saturday's 3-2 win at Fulham.

The impressive form of Sol Campbell with Arsenal after lengthy ankle and Achilles problems gives Eriksson a genuine selection poser for the two World Cup qualifiers with Austria and Poland at Old Trafford in the next eight days.

It would seem unthinkable that Eriksson would leave out John Terry after his excellent displays in leading Chelsea to the top of the Premiership this season.

But Eriksson admitted it was a difficult decision to mull over in his mind as he contemplated whether to give Campbell a recall or stand by Ferdinand.

The Swede showed he was strong on loyalty by keeping faith with Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard for last month's games with Wales and Northern Ireland even though both were clearly struggling for form.

Eriksson said: "Finally we have that problem we talked about for a long time of having all three of them available (Ferdinand, Terry and Campbell) plus Ledley King. That is a big decision I have to take.

"I know Rio was criticised because of the two goals that Manchester United conceded against Fulham. I saw them on television and Tord Grip (assistant coach) was there as well.

"But I have seen many games this season and I think that Rio Ferdinand is playing well, as have been Sol Campbell and John Terry. All three of them are playing well."

Eriksson side-stepped questions about when Ferdinand last performed at his best for England and preferred instead to focus on England's general poor performances in the friendly against Denmark, and the qualifiers with Wales and Northern Ireland.

He said: "If you take this season as a whole, I would say England as a team haven't performed at the level we should do - with Rio or without Rio.

"I don't think you can say it is one player's fault. As a team we haven't performed as well as we should do. Rio played well for England when we performed well last season.

"We can't say we have performed well this season against Denmark, not even Wales although we won, or Northern Ireland. Will I pick Rio? If I pick him or not, I will not announce until Saturday on what I am going to do. I can't share that with you now. I hope you understand that."