Are England safe with Carragher?

Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher is set to fill in at centre-back for England's Euro 2004 opener against France on Sunday.

Carragher's inclusion will depend on whether national team coach Sven-Goran Eriksson is prepared to risk Chelsea defender John Terry, who is suffering from a hamstring injury.

Here we assess Carragher's strengths and weaknesses.

Strengths

Versatility

As Liverpool team-mate Michael Owen pointed out, Carragher has played every position at Anfield bar goalkeeper and striker.

Though Eriksson will want him to stay put in the centre of defence if he gets the nod ahead of Terry, it should be reassuring that he will be comfortable on either side of the penalty area, and at bringing the ball out of defence having played in midfield.

Fitness

Carragher is supremely fit and there should be no concerns of a lack of effort. Will keep running for the whole 90 minutes in Lisbon, just not as fast as Thierry Henry.

Freshness

Unlike many of his England peers, Carragher does not arrive in Portugal after a full Premiership and European campaign.

A broken leg suffered in an horrendous challenge with Blackburn full-back Lucas Neill sidelined him from mid-September until January 21, when he returned to the Reds line-up at Wolves.

Weaknesses

Temperament

Questionable. The red mist descended very quickly during an FA Cup tie in January 2002 as he responded to a coin being thrown on to the pitch at Highbury by chucking it straight back into the crowd.

He was shown a straight red card and given a formal police warning, but escaped censure from the Football Association beyond a three-match ban and £40,000 fine.

Jack of all trades...

Carragher's versatility could be a problem in itself. He is way down the pecking order for central defenders but a combination of a series of injuries and Rio Ferdinand's forgetfulness have given him his chance. Not even a regular centre-back at Liverpool, where he is just as likely to play at right-back or left-back.

International experience

Carragher has never started a competitive match for England. Other than the 6-1 win over Iceland last weekend, his other two starts have come in friendlies against Sweden, in November 2001 and March 2004 - he played at left-back in both.

Last time he met Henry

The Liverpudlian's last attempt to stop Thierry Henry would make for worrying viewing for England fans.

The French superstar swaggered through the Reds defence and with Carragher advancing towards him, sold him the most outrageous dummy to leave him on his backside before Henry applied the coup de grace.

The verdict

The pressure on Carragher to deliver will be intense, and his first competitive international could not come against tougher opponents. His inexperience could be England's undoing.