Any player who fails to report for England duty next Sunday will risk missing the World Cup unless he is physically incapable of travelling. And it will not be enough to turn up with a sick note and return to his club the following morning. Glenn Hoddle regards the warm-up game against Portugal at Wembley next Wednesday as the start of England's serious World Cup preparations. He will name his squad for France in seven weeks and cannot afford a repeat of the farce which preceded the friendly in Switzerland last month, when nine players withdrew with injuries but most of them played the following weekend.
After announcing a party of 34 yesterday for the Portugal game, the England coach spelled out the situation to any potential absentees. "This is a get-together with one eye on the final 22," said Hoddle, "and I expect all the players to be there. I'm surely not asking for too much to get a group of 30-odd players together two months before the World Cup finals.
"I don't envisage anyone pulling out. If they do, they would be foolish unless they're in plaster or in hospital, or can't travel because they're ill. But it must be serious - a serious reason why they can't get on a train or plane or get into a car."
Hoddle's exasperation over the number of withdrawals, mainly involving Manchester United players, was evident before the match in Berne. "It's very frustrating when you want to try and plan things," he said.
Next week Hoddle will outline his World Cup strategy and will want the players to study video clips from England's previous games. "You can't do this properly if there are always five, six or seven people missing," he said.
Before the match in Berne six United players - Butt, Paul Scholes, David Beckham, Andy Cole and Gary and Phil Neville - dropped out along with Tony Adams and Ray Parlour from Arsenal and Chelsea's Graeme Le Saux. Any repetition would severely strain relations between country and clubs.
Hoddle's latest squad reflects the wider importance of next week's get-together. Arsenal's Ian Wright and Blackburn's Tim Flowers are included, even though both are injured at the moment. Another Arsenal player, Martin Keown, is recovering from a cracked bone under an eye and Liverpool's Steve McManaman, due to play at Coventry on Sunday before joining the England squad, is carrying an ankle injury.
Paul Gascoigne has been recalled, having recovered from a gashed foot in time to play in Middlesbrough's Easter programme. Hoddle left Gascoigne out last time because of his lack of match practice and warned England's only survivor from the 1990 World Cup that he needed games to prove himself fit for France.
Also back are Stuart Pearce, Dominic Matteo, Les Ferdinand, Jamie Redknapp and Ian Walker, the Tottenham goalkeeper. But with 16 to 18 of the places in the World Cup squad more or less spoken for and the likes of Rio Ferdinand, Michael Owen, Cole, Wright, Dion Dublin, Butt and Robert Lee leading the queue for the remainder, the likes of Matteo and Walker are for the moment merely making up the numbers.
It looks as if Hoddle has already made up his mind about Blackburn's Chris Sutton, Chelsea's Dennis Wise, Gary Pallister of United and Aston Villa's Stan Collymore - none made even this big squad. "If they're not in today, I think they can start booking their holidays unless we get 14 or 15 injuries in the same positions," Hoddle said.
For Sutton, who refused to play for England B, the air must still be heavy with the smell of burned-out boats.
Portugal's coach Humberto Coelho sprung few surprises in his squad. He picked the midfielder Jose Calado after a three-year absence from the national side. Calado, 24, has impressed with Benfica under Graeme Souness and may play in a strong midfield featuring Paulo Sousa, Rui Costa and Luis Figo. Jorge Cadete, the former Celtic striker now with Celta Vigo, is also in the 18-man party.
England (squad to face Portugal at Wembley on April 22nd) Seaman (Arsenal), Martyn (Leeds), Walker (Spurs), Pressman (Sheff Wed), Southgate (Aston Villa), G Neville (Man Utd), P Neville (Man Utd), Campbell (Spurs), Adams (Arsenal), Keown (Arsenal), R Ferdinand (West Ham), Le Saux (Chelsea), Hinchcliffe (Everton), Pearce (Newcastle), Matteo (Liverpool), Redknapp (Liverpool), Ince (Liverpool), Gascoigne (Middlesbrough), Scholes (Man Utd), Parlour (Arsenal), Beckham (Man Utd), Batty (Newcastle), Butt (Man Utd), Lee (Newcastle), McManaman (Liverpool), Sheringham (Man Utd), Cole (Man Utd), Shearer (Newcastle), Owen (Liverpool), Merson (Middlesbrough), L Ferdinand (Spurs), Wright (Arsenal).
