Sven is right to pick the 'Leeds two'

He clearly has a strong character and does not seem to have been affected by the controversy. Hopefully he has learned from all his off-field problems - and is now ready to learn a bit more as a footballer.

I don't think Woodgate has handled the pressure as well as his team-mate. He seemed far less strong in terms of character and, unlike Bowyer, did not carry on playing. But hopefully they will both be able to concentrate on their respective games now, irrespective of what may happen off the pitch in the near future.

The addition of those two players to a generally young squad shows how Sven is starting to prepare for the European Championship campaign. When you come home from a World Cup you spend the first few months analysing the good and bad points that came out of the tournament. Sven will have done that and will now want to look forward.

Part of that process involves looking at other players which is why there is no David Seaman or Teddy Sheringham in this squad.

He knows what they can do, but what about the rest? The trick is to give other players experience without allowing Portugal to inflict the sort of mauling that could affect their confidence. Sven has shown he will not be deflected from his beliefs and I'm not surprised that his critics are starting to say he is too calm all the time.

What you have to remember is that last year everyone was praising his unflappability. So what's changed? I experienced exactly the same thing myself.

The point is that there is no set way to manage in terms of shouting or staying calm - you do what you feel is right at the moment.

Obviously, if you shout all the time then players just switch off, but equally they can get complacent if you don't show some passion on occasions.

Shouting for the right reasons is acceptable, but in my time as England manager I never had any problems motivating players: they were always proud to pull on the shirts and wanted to win. They also gave their all because they wanted to impress the manager and remain in the side.

But then there is no such thing as a friendly international. The nation expects you to win and, however much the manager wants to experiment, he always has to remember that.

No matter what the result, it will be endlessly analysed.

The events of this week will have shown Sven - once again - that he will never get the squad he wants. I certainly didn't.

The manager needs to be aware which players know the system and have the experience to slot in as replacements if his first-choice players pull out with injury.

Sven will be happy in his own mind with what the injured Beckham and Kieron Dyer can do but he needs to know who can step in to do their jobs.

That is why he has omitted Seaman, although I have no doubts that he would be in goal if the tournament was starting tomorrow. Seaman has stated clearly that he wants to carry on at international level and I do not see anyone who has earned the right to take his gloves off him at this stage.

Quite frankly, those people who criticise him for Gianfranco Zola's goal for Chelsea do not understand the game.

Last Sunday's goal was caused by a defensive - not a goalkeeping - error. Had the defender been doing his job properly, Seaman would not have been in the position he was. Zola did not go for goal with that freekick, he just put it into the area. As soon as Seaman saw a blue shirt moving in to meet it, he had to come. If the defender had moved with the Chelsea player then there would have been no problem.

For me, no keeper in the country has been consistent enough to replace him. David James, for instance, is a great keeper but has yet to show the required consistency. I believe the future of England's goalkeeping jersey lies with Chris Kirkland of Liverpool.

With someone like Jerzy Dudek in front of him at Anfield, it is going to be difficult for him to get the required Premiership experience but he is a tremendous player and has all the necessary qualities. I think the lad has got a great future.

On Saturday, it will also be interesting to see how the Alan Smith / Michael Owen combination works up front. I think Owen is getting his sharpness back after a quiet start to the season.

He is very different from Smith, needing to be up against the last man in their defence. But Smith can come out of the attack and leave room for someone like Bowyer to move up from midfield. He can also give us another option by taking up wide positions.

So there will be much to learn against Portugal - and this game will be of immense benefit to Sven. At the very least we can get Brazil out of our system.

Portugal always flatter to deceive and not needing to qualify as hosts of Euro 2004 will not necessarily help their preparations.

Like us, they have got a lot of younger players coming through and the squad has a lot of individual talent. The problem has always been that the mentality is wrong; it's not strong enough. Of course they have the ability to beat us in a one-off game, as indeed they did in the last European Championships.

I was doing TV that night and although we went 2-0 up I said at the time we could lose it 4-2. As it turned out they won 3-2, although those games seem to be one-offs with them.

The burden on Luis Figo is tremendous. At Real Madrid, a team who would beat most national sides, he is surrounded by other talented stars such as Zinedine Zidane, so playing for Portugal must be difficult.

A lot is expected of him when he returns to play for his national side. Too much, I suspect. I think it is a real problem for them.