The Glenn Keeley column. . .

SO the waiting is almost over.

After months of hype and feverish anticipation, England will finally face France in a Euro 2004 clash of the Titans at the Estadio Da Luz on Sunday evening.

With the big game just four days away, the debate about Sven Goran Eriksson's starting formation still rumbles on.

Does he go with the controversial diamond formation that looked so fragile against Japan last week or revert to the more fluid 4-4-2 system that he adopted against Iceland last Saturday?

To be honest, if it was down to me then I wouldn't go with either option against France.

The French are a powerful force and they have the players to tear anyone apart if they really put their minds to it.

In Zinedine Zidane and Thierry Henry they have arguably the two best players in the world, then throw in the likes of Patrick Vieira, Robert Pires and David Trezeguet and it's easy to see why they're many people's favourites to retain the crown they won so impressively four years ago.

That's why I'd be tempted to go with a 4-5-1 formation on Sunday if I was Sven.

In a tournament like this, it's absolutely vital you don't get beat in your first game.

If England were to lose then qualifying for the knockout stages would become incredibly difficult.

I'd therefore set my stall out to at least get a point against the French which would then set us up nicely for the games against Switzerland and Croatia.

Looking at the squad as a whole, our strength lies in midfield.

Steven Gerrard is currently in the form of his life after a brilliant season with Liverpool and the same can also be said of Frank Lampard, who's been a revelation with Chelsea's millionaires this term.

Then there's Paul Scholes who, on his day, is one of the best attacking midfield players in Europe and, of course, everyone knows about David Beckham and his importance to this England team.

I'm a firm believer in picking your best players and, for me, all four of those guys have got to start.

I'd also plump for a holding midfield player in Nicky Butt who could play the anchor role just in front of the back four.

Butt would naturally complement the attacking flair of the others and the protection he offers defensively would allow the likes of Scholes and Lampard to bomb forward and make runs from deep.

My only concern about the 4-5-1 formation is whether Michael Owen is equipped to play as a lone striker up front.

Is he the sort of player who could hold the ball up and bring others into play?

The fact that Sven has never experimented with such a system means there's little chance of him going that way on Sunday, which could be a grave mistake.

After performing so badly at the last World Cup, France will be fired up and ready to make amends in Portugal.

And because they're facing England in their opening game, they won't be as complacent as they were in Japan two years ago.

We've got to get amongst them early, make ourselves difficult to beat, and then hope that someone can produce that little bit of magic to tip the balance in our favour.

I've got a sneaky feeling Frank Lampard could take this tournament by storm if he really puts his mind to it.

He's the kind of player who can conjure a goal out of nothing and he may just be the ace up Eriksson's sleeve if he uses him in the right way.

GLENN'S TIPS

Tournament winners: France or Portugal - the French have the class but the hosts will be strong on their own turf

Runners-up: France or Portugal

England's prospects: If they get through a tough group then they could make the semis

Top scorer: Thierry Henry - it's difficult to see past the Frenchman after his exploits last season

Player of the tournament: Zinedine Zidane - or possibly Frank Lampard

Possible dark horses: Germany - you can never rule them out, no matter how bad their team looks