An England friendly is too often a counterfeit version of a genuine football match and Sven-Goran Eriksson therefore felt moved to give today's meeting with Argentina its own certificate of authenticity. The guarantee lay in the letter he sent to every Premiership manager a fortnight ago which was, in essence, a coded plea not to withdraw players.
"I explained that it's a real game," Eriksson said, "and that it's good for the club managers because the players will come back (this evening) and will have seven days to prepare for the next league game . . . I want to take this match very seriously."
Judging by the strength of the expected line-up in Geneva he got a sympathetic response. Even Alex Ferguson, who was on record as threatening to withhold some Manchester United players, entered into the cooperative spirit. After all that, however, the burden lies with Eriksson to show he can produce a proper contest in which his team performs creditably. He hopes to restrict himself to three substitutions.
Given his virtual promotional campaign for the value of the fixture, he will not be able to plead afterwards it was merely a training exercise. Eriksson is sufficiently in earnest to have taken some brisk decisions. Only days after he had conveyed his unease over Rio Ferdinand's form, the United centre-back will be preferred to Sol Campbell. The manager, by his own account, has performed a volte face on the slightest of evidence, claiming Ferdinand had been "very good" against Chelsea last Sunday and "deserves to play". To those who recalled the defender being flat-footed as Didier Drogba latched on to a long pass from Frank Lampard, Eriksson responded leniently that it had been "one small error in 90 minutes".
In essence, the Swede had watched the game with a desire to be persuaded. Having concluded Ferdinand would be essential in Germany next summer he saw no sense in dumping him on the sidelines now. With that verdict delivered, the rest is mere diplomacy.
"All three are extremely good and they can play as a pair, whichever you choose," he said of Ferdinand, Campbell and John Terry.
"If the World Cup was tomorrow then, yes, the choice has been made but it is seven months ahead. Everything is possible."
Though lapses against Argentina would reopen the question, insurance is being taken out against such a calamity. Ledley King will have the highly specific duties of a holding midfielder. "Juan Riquelme is a fantastic player if you give him space," Eriksson said of the Argentinian threat. "He passes the ball behind a defence and beats people. Carlos Tevez drops off and works very hard. King at this moment is the best we have in sitting midfield . . . I think he is fantastic when he does that job. This is a big test for him and the team with him in that role."
There was inadvertent humour when Ferdinand was ruled out as a contender for midfield. Eriksson suggested it was too late to retrain him now. "If the next game is in March he will almost have forgotten what he did here," the manager said of a man whose absent-mindedness became notorious after the missed drugs test.
Since Eriksson's first game, against Spain, the US are the only side from the world's top 10 whom England have beaten in a friendly. Eriksson is adamant far greater ambition will have to be shown tonight, as his squad moves on to the approach road to next summer's tournament. This will be a challenge for the left-back Wayne Bridge, who has appeared for only an hour with Chelsea in the League Cup since breaking his ankle in February.
