England can be new favourites

He was too inexperienced at Newcastle and didn't start well - a combination that caused pressure to build on him. I think he was just too young to handle it but now, having played for a few different clubs, he is a huge threat whenever he gets on the field. He knows where the goal is and, if you watch his movement carefully, you'll see how similar he is to Teddy - and everyone knows how highly I rate him!

Although Denmark will be a tough proposition, I am delighted we have avoided Senegal. Denmark have been the most organised team in the tournament and have worked very hard at hitting opponents on the break, but Senegal have that unpredictability.

Let's face it, we showed on Wednesday that we couldn't quite handle a young Nigerian side. They were very difficult to defend against and caused us a few scares - and it would have been exactly the same against the Senegalese. And Senegal would have been absolute outsiders against us and I'm not sure that it is good for us to be favourites.

England are better suited against Denmark, particularly in the evening, although this will help both sides. It's going to be very tight because the Danes work as a strong unit and we will have to work hard to create anything. At the other end, Dennis Rommedahl's pace will be a constant problem.

One plus for us tomorrow will be the suspension of Christian Poulsen, who has picked up two yellow cards. Although not a spectacular player, he is a big loss for the Danes. He sits in that midfield holding role, breaking attacks down and protecting the defence.

Owen Hargreaves' unfortunate injury has allowed England to find the right midfield pairing in Paul Scholes and Nicky Butt. I don't think Sven will change it now and Trevor Sinclair has done enough to stay in the side. He gives us balance on the left and was one of our better players against Nigeria, dovetailing well with Ashley Cole.

The big decision for Sven will once again be who to play up front. In my first two columns I suggested Darius Vassell plus Michael Owen for Sweden and Teddy plus Owen for Argentina. Against Denmark I would again favour Teddy from the start. We will not be hitting them on the break - that will be their gameplan - so we need to have someone up front who is as astute as Tomasson. Teddy fits the bill because he can create opportunities with a single pass.

Of course he might not finish the game, but so what? That might work in our favour because Emile Heskey's power for the last 20 minutes could be a great bonus at this stage of the competition. Heskey would get on the end of any ball pumped into the area during that last quarter.

Until now, England have not had to come out and play. What I mean is we have not had to show our top form. Against Sweden and Argentina, they had to do the chasing and against Nigeria we only needed a draw - no one had to go gung-ho for a winner.

Tomorrow, the Danes won't be coming out to attack. They will try to hit us on the break. They will have even more pace if Jesper Gronkjaer plays, so Rio Ferdinand and Sol Campbell will need to be vigilant. Denmark also look solid at the back and it won't be easy for us to break them down. But if someone had said to me two weeks ago that we would be playing Denmark in the last 16, I would have taken it. I also believe there is more to come from England. We played well in the first half against Sweden and produced a great defensive performance to beat the Argentinians. Tomorrow, we need to ensure we have the majority of the possession.

That means David Beckham and Scholes will have to be on top of their attacking game. Beckham might have to play much wider because the Danes put a lot of bodies behind the ball and we will need to get round the back. Much depends on the ability of Danny Mills and Ashley Cole to overlap Sinclair and Beckham.

When Beckham comes in off his perch, as it is called within football, Mills will have to bomb on and get into the space vacated on the right.

That movement and overlap will be key. I call it 'extending the pitch'.

If a player moves 10 yards inside the touchline then, logically, the pitch is reduced from 75 to 65 yards. That's why you need to extend it with little blindside runs and overlaps.

When Denmark eventually come at us, Owen's pace should come into play. There will be times tomorrow when we should allow Denmark to have a go at us because it will open up space. But we simply cannot afford to go one down because it will be enormously difficult to prise them open. Having said that, David Seaman has looked impeccable in goal and Ferdinand has shone out.

This will be another test for Ferdinand's emerging talent. I say emerging because he has always had the ability: it is just that he is now demonstrating that on the world stage. I took him to France in 1998 and so I'm not surprised by his form now. He has grown in self-belief and now knows he can defend against top-class players. He's done that for Leeds in Europe over the past couple of seasons, but now he's gone that one step further.

Ferdinand has a lovely balance to his game and is accomplished on the ball. Sven could play him anywhere and he would still be comfortable. One of his major assets is his ability to pass the ball to midfield. It means England now have something they have lacked for a long time: a passing centre-half who can defend properly.

The early exits of Argentina and champions France have left the door open for England to go on and on. Brazil look strong and Germany have managed to stride their way through to the next stage. While Mexico have been a big surprise, I don't think they are strong enough to win it. The same applies to Portugal.

England have not hit top form but with a bit of luck there is a door waiting to be smashed open. We are capable of doing it and, along with Spain, can emerge as real favourites.

One thing is for sure: while everyone in England is getting carried away with our success, Sven will not be doing so. I'm sure his vast experience and calm personality is getting through to the players.

Beckham won't be getting carried away either. He has had two full games now and, although by his own standards he is not playing at his peak, no one should expect him to at this stage. There is more to come from him and I think you might just see it against Denmark.

Everyone will need to be at their best if we are not to go the way of France and Argentina. It's time to show what we can really do.