Highlights - England 1-1 USA
England boss Fabio Capello says Gareth Barry will start against Algeria, but he is still undecided over who to play in goal and up front with Wayne Rooney.
Barry has shaken off an ankle injury and will anchor the England midfield in their second World Cup game on Friday. But goalkeeper Rob Green's place is under threat following his mistake in the 1-1 draw with the United States. And the coach revealed he is weighing up whether to drop Emile Heskey and play Jermain Defoe alongside Rooney.
Barry, a mainstay of England's qualifying campaign, missed the draw with the United States because of an ankle injury suffered playing for Manchester City against Tottenham in early May. But he has been training with the squad and is likely to be asked to shield the defence against the north Africans.
"Gareth Barry will play this Friday," said Capello. "He's training very well, and has no problems. He's fit." Barry said earlier this week he was fully fit and would have "bitten Capello's hand off" to play against the US and Manchester United striker Rooney is in no doubt about the qualities Barry brings to the team. "We know what a player he is," said Rooney. "He can sit and hold for us, keep the ball and he's good in possession.
"So he's a different option if the manager decides to choose him." Barry's return gives Capello the option of moving captain Steven Gerrard to the left side of midfield or playing the Liverpool man behind Rooney in a 4-4-1-1 system. But the coach seems determined to stick with two out-and-out strikers and will choose between Aston Villa frontman Heskey and Tottenham forward Defoe.
Heskey set up England's goal against the US for Gerrard but later wasted a golden opportunity when one-on-one with the goalkeeper. Defoe has 11 goals in 40 internationals, compared with Heskey's record of seven in 59. Capello favoured Heskey in qualifying and Rooney believes his partnership with the former Liverpool striker can be successful at the World Cup. "We thought we caused problems for the US defence," said Rooney.
"We created chances for the team and if the manager picks the two of us again I'm sure we'll cause problems for the Algeria defence." Rooney has only scored once in his last eight internationals and offered little threat against the Americans. But the United striker has vowed to improve and is confident England can deliver a win against the Algerians, who qualified for the World Cup via a play-off and were unimpressive in their 1-0 defeat by Slovenia on Sunday.
"We started very well (on Saturday) and we deserved to win and overall we did enough to win the game, but unfortunately we didn't. But I am sure we will take three points on Friday," said Rooney. "We've got players in the team who can score goals. For us to do well, I need to play better than I did and to score goals.
"But I don't feel under extra pressure. If we win the next two games I'll be happy. I'm not worried. If I don't score in the next game I'll just keep working until I do." Rooney was dismissive of criticism from Germany legend Franz Beckenbauer, who described England's performance against the US as a step back to the dark ages of "kick and rush" football.
"That is his opinion and he is entitled to it," Rooney said. "But we don't listen to what he has to say. We certainly don't play kick and rush and we don't take any notice of his comments." Capello said he would assess Green's state of mind before deciding whether to keep faith in the West Ham goalkeeper, or to call in either David James or Joe Hart. The England coach must also decide whether Jamie Carragher deserves to start alongside John Terry in central defence, with Matthew Upson and Michael Dawson waiting in the wings.
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