The England squad is far better fortified than the Wolfsburg penalty area. Michael Owen may have got through for a hat-trick on Tuesday night, but opportunities are harder to come by when a player tries to search out a place in Fabio Capello's plans. The Manchester United attacker's display in Germany was no more than a promising start in the bid to return to the international reckoning.
Owen did at least make an advance. As much as the goals, Capello would have taken notice of the player's condition. In stoppage time Owen still had the energy to make the long run on the break that brought his third goal. There was pleasing devilment, too, as he tricked the goalkeeper Diego Benaglio before finishing.
It corroborated Sir Alex Ferguson's claim that Owen had been increasingly to the fore in training. Nonetheless, Capello would be ditching his usual stringency if he suddenly declared that Owen now meets all the criteria. In mid-December, an attacker who turns 30 next week has scored just twice in the Premier League. On each occasion, he did so as a substitute.
If he has not made the grade with his club, why should he be treated as the key to England's hopes at the World Cup? Ferguson could counter by arguing that Owen is coming good at exactly the right time. As always, though, Capello will exercise a vigorous scepticism. There are few spare berths for forwards.
The Italian may well take just four attackers to South Africa. He had Emile Heskey forming a productive partnership with Wayne Rooney in the qualifiers. The respective understudies may be Peter Crouch or Carlton Cole and Jermain Defoe. There may be no need for anyone else since Steven Gerrard, for instance, could take over the duties of an absent Rooney.
Owen, in effect, could have to displace Defoe. In some ways, that contest is a mismatch. The Tottenham attacker does not have a comparable knack for assessing defenders and exploiting their weaknesses. He also lacks the wealth of experience at the top level that Owen has amassed.
Defoe, all the same, is younger, less prone to strains and in the midst of a productive spell. He has scored five goals for England over four appearances this season. They have all not been trivial either, since it was his strikes in August that delivered a 2-2 draw in Amsterdam against a more highly-ranked Holland side.
Still, Owen's ears might have pricked up when he heard the manager qualifying the accolades a little that day. Capello certainly had compliments to pay, but he also added that footballers of Defoe's build get fit fast and are ready to make an impact early in the season.
Owen himself might once, like Defoe, have been naturally sharp, but everything has come harder now that he is older and battle-scarred. The older man does still have his advantages. It is true that he may struggle to be picked for United from the kick-off when Dimitar Berbatov and Rooney are fit, but, conversely, the club, as they did in Wolfsburg, can regularly give Owen the sort of stage that Defoe is yet to tread.
If the competition for places is more exacting at Old Trafford than it is at White Hart Lane then so, too, must be the standards that have to be met. With United, there is the prospect of being regarded as one of the elite because major trophies are at stake. While he certainly is in competition with Rooney and Berbatov, there are days, too, when one of them will use his creativity to show the sharpshooter Owen in the best possible light.
The schedule for the next few weeks is rather appealing, too, with fixtures that should offer a striker chances to hone his statistics. In truth, of course, we do not know if the wiser Owen can ever be a match for the scintillating opportunist of years gone by, but the switch from St James' Park to Old Trafford did challenge the assumption that he was as much on the slide as Newcastle United.
There are factors, of course, that are beyond his control. England have just one friendly before the close of the club season, so it could be that Capello will conclude it is too late to reconsider his options. Owen, for his part, will have to continue being a dependable scorer if Tuesday in Wolfsburg is not to be written off as an illusory flashback to days that are truly gone forever.
Peter Beardsley
Forward who won 59 caps for England
"Michael Owen would always be in my 23 for the World Cup because of his pedigree. He's been there and done it before. And the thing about Michael, even when he was at Newcastle, is that he very rarely misses chances, which he proved against Wolfsburg. In fact the third goal wasn't even a chance and he made it into a goal. I don't think that fitness will be an issue because Michael knows his own body. And he's not injury-prone. He just had some freakish injuries at Newcastle. All in all, I wouldn't say he would start for England but I would definitely take him to South Africa."
Peter Taylor
Former caretaker England manager
"I think Michael needs a very good second half of the season to go to the World Cup. There's definitely a value in having him there to come off the bench and David Beckham is in the same boat. But as a manager you want different options and if Wayne Rooney is going to start it could come down to a choice between Jermain Defoe and Michael because I'm not sure you would want to take both. Michael is such a good finisher and against Wolfsburg he was brilliant. But I think at the moment he needs to be playing a bit more."
Tony Woodcock
Striker who won 42 caps for England
"I think with Michael scoring three goals against Wolfsburg that's got everyone all excited again but I don't think the hat-trick will change Capello's mind. He will want to see him playing on a regular basis. I also think the big thing you have to take into consideration is Michael's style of play. Does he offer an alternative to the other strikers? There are a lot of things in the melting pot and Michael has been there and shown he can do it at the highest level. But I couldn't make a decision on him now. I would keep him as a candidate for the moment."
