Owen, who has scored an impressive 27 goals for his country, will lead England's attack once again tonight as they seek a win against Poland in Katowice.

The striker failed to find the net against Austria on Saturday, but he supplied the pass that led to Steven Gerrard's stunning strike to confirm his ability at making as well as scoring goals.

Incredibly, the Real Madrid star shares the same plight as the team in that he often finds his ability under the microscope from some quarters, but he believes both can survive the sternest scrutiny.

He said: "I can only speak for myself and I think that I'm playing on merit. I've performed well enough to justify my place in the team in the past few games. I'm still scoring goals and still believe I should be in the team as the main goalscorer.

"I played reasonably well the other day against Austria. I scored against Ukraine, against Portugal. I'm happy enough. I've developed my game a bit. I had a hand in both goals the other day, I set up plenty of goals at Euro 2004.

"If someone doesn't think I should be in the team then fine, but I can look in the mirror and I'm totally comfortable with my role in the team and the way I'm playing.

"I wouldn't have thought I was 100 per cent as quick as before my main hamstring injury but I'm still quick enough in my eyes.

"The only thing I look at are the facts. I'm very positive about the England national side. We've got to two quarter-finals and no one likes playing against England.

"We're one of the top countries in the world, with some of the best players and young players in the world. There are other big nations in the world that are cursing themselves more than us. I don't think we're beginning to feel a bit sorry for ourselves, imagine how Spain are feeling now, for instance."

For someone not known for his great size, Owen certainly has the fighting talk of a heavyweight and his frank talking betrays a steely resolve ahead of the big match.

The last few days he has been haunted by the memory of the Austria game and the three points that got away. England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson has also showed videos of the encounter should any of the details have become a bit hazy.

England's two dropped points could turn out to be a blessing in disguise as it has given everyone stronger motivation to make sure they beat Poland.

Owen added: "We're now looking forward to the next game. Until Monday, our reaction was probably one of disbelief at how we let a lead slip away after being in such control. We watched the video again and I didn't realise how much we were in control of that first-half.

"I thought the majority of players did well. Ledley King did fantastic, so did John Terry, the whole back-four were really good. It's just staggering that we didn't take three points.

"We show signs of beating anyone on our day. What happened against Austria happened in Portugal too. It seems quite a similar trend. We kick off well and are beating teams. I don't know what it is in our minds that lets teams off the hook or gives them a bit of incentive.

"Their fans were totally quiet after we went 2-0 up. But then we gave them some incentive and it's been the same for quite a few games, we should have killed teams off. When we're at our best, we're a match for anyone. It's just those little ingredients."

Click on the links below to watch a video of the full press conference with Michael Owen.

08 September 2004  
Michael Owen press conference