Matthew Oakley is hoping the postponement of England Under-21's play-off against Yugoslavia will work in his favour after reluctantly turning down a surprise call-up. Coach Howard Wilkinson turned to the Saints midfielder after losing several players through injury this week for the one-off game to decide who goes through to the finals in May.

The clash, scheduled for Sunday, should have been a two-legged play-off but FIFA feel the political situation in Yugoslavia is too unstable for them to host a match of this magnitude.

They switched it to a one-off on the neutral territory of Luxembourg who have now realised they cannot meet Yugoslav demands for extra security at such short notice.

The game is to be re-arranged as soon as possible and Oakley is hoping he will still figure after declining his first call-up for more than a year in order to rest a groin problem which has been troubling him in recent weeks.

He said: "I thought I was too old at 22 but apparently qualification dates back to players' ages when the tournament began. It never occurred to me that I might be involved.

"But I had earmarked this weekend to rest a groin injury. I had an operation in the summer and have been feeling a few twinges so I decided to use the two-week break between games to let it settle. It is disappointing after so long out of the international scene but I spoke to physio Jim Joyce and to the club doctor and they both felt it would be better if I did not go.

"It is not serious, more of a precaution than anything. I could have gone and played OK but I could have got injured and then the manager would not be happy.

"Things are going really well for me right now and I want to keep that momentum going. If I made my groin worse and let someone else in then I could be out for a few weeks especially with the intense competition for places we have in midfield."

The postponement is a blow though to Oakley's Southampton colleague James Beattie who looked set to start the game. Meanwhile Luis Boa Morte and Marco Almeida are aiming to help the Portuguese Under-21 side get through two legs against Croatia.

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