Jermain Defoe was in electric form against Liverpool and scored a great goal in front of the watching England coach. Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher also made solid claims for a starting place on Wednesday. Ledley King excelled at the back for Spurs whilst Paul Robinson could do nothing about the Liverpool goal.

England number one David James produced some excellent saves to earn Manchester City a point against Fulham. But the highlight of that game at the Docklands was the performance of Shaun Wright-Phillips who produced a scintillating display down the right wing.

Nicky Butt and Jermaine Jenas performed well at the heart of the Newcastle midfield in their 2-2 draw at Middlesbrough but Kieron Dyer had to settle for a place on the bench.

Darius Vassell got over his Euro 2004 heartache with a goal for Aston Villa in their 2-0 win over Southampton, and Emile Heskey produced a bullocking display for Birmingham with Matt Upson solid at the back.

John Terry, Frank Lampard and Wayne Bridge all played well for Chelsea in their game against Manchester United, but young full back Glen Johnson failed to make it into the squad of sixteen.

On the other side of the field Gary Neville and Alan Smith both turned out for United in front of Eriksson who was at Stamford Bridge watching the game.