I suppose before Euro 2004 started England would have settled for going into the last game needing only a draw.

But having seen the way Croatia nearly beat France, there will be one or two furrowed brows in the England camp until we get the first goal on Monday.

Arguably, we presented the victory to France by two errors, but isn't it amazing how another bad back-pass cost Croatia a famous victory that allowed the French to breath more easily?

But the one thing that concerns me still is the left-side balance.

Before Switzerland were reduced to ten men they seemed to be able to get crosses in, particularly from the right wing where Ashley Cole was regularly facing two players because of the lack of a natural left-side midfield player in front of him.

Whilst David Beckham has certainly impressed with his delivery of a long pass and free-kicks, he has yet to cause big problems to the opposition.

I can't remember him going past a defender with the ball, but hopefully he will get better the longer we stay in.

Michael Owen has come in for some criticism whilst Wayne Rooney is the wonder boy at present.

In defence of Owen, he is having to play furthest forward and is continually surrounded by defenders whilst Wayne has the opportunity to be in space when he collects the ball and is undoubtedly as good as anyone running at people.

He is strong, has that low centre of gravity, which makes him very difficult to shake off the ball, and has the confidence of an 18-year-old who doesn't seem to know what all the fuss is about.

In midfield against France, Lampard and Gerrard formed a formidable barrier in front of our back four, who purposely played deep to cancel out the space which Thierry Henry would normally thrive on.

So, all in all, with Neville and Cole looking comfortable and Campbell unconcerned whether he is partnered by King or Terry, the signs are good.

Some of the phone-ins I have listened to have urged Sven to start with Darius Vassell but, at the moment, he is what we in the game class as a good substitute.

Usually when he comes on the opposition are starting to tire because, have no doubt about it, the heat is an important part.

His style of play is very pacy and sharp but, like Rooney, he is also very strong.

When defenders see that sort of liveliness, when they are starting to tire, it has a psychological effect.

I have no doubt that if we get through to the next stage we will be, along with France, favourites.

Whilst talking about the heat, let's have a word for the refs. We have seen some good displays so far from them.

We tend to take them for granted but they are very rarely far away from the play and only tend to get a mention when a dodgy decision crops up.

The punishment given to Francesco Totti for spitting should have been instant dismissal from the tournament.

As it is, should Italy get through to the semi-finals, he will be eligible to play again.

This is probably worse than a player deliberately kicking another - certainly in England we would never stand for that sort of attitude.