Rufus ready to follow Powell

With Ashley Cole injured, it seemed like the perfect opportunity for Charlton's Chris Powell to reclaim his place in Sven Goran Eriksson's squad ahead of Wednesday's friendly against Paraguay.

But after Saturday's home draw with Southampton, Powell was left out and the visitors'Wayne Bridge now looks favoured to make the trip to Japan next month. Powell's manager Alan Curbishley had sympathy for the defender.

He said: 'Chris hasn't let England down and I felt for him when he wasn't in the last squad, but he's got to take it on the chin and get on with it.' Curbishley feels another of his defenders, Richard Rufus, can do a job for Eriksson and it was a rare goal from the 26-year-old in his fifth match since returning from a knee injury that ended up earning Charlton a point. Rufus flicked his header past Paul Jones from John Robinson's long throw in the 17th minute.

But Southampton are resilient under Gordon Strachan. They dominated possession in the second half and equalised with five minutes to go. Jason Dodd's cross found the unmarked Tahar El Khalej, whose header deflected off Rufus and past keeper Dean Kiely.

Referee Phil Dowd turned down two Southampton appeals for a penalty, the first when the ball hit Robinson's arm, the second when Portugal defender Jorge Costa pushed Jo Tessem.

The Norway defender was in no doubt, saying: 'It was a definite penalty as I had the ball under control.'