SAYS EX-ENGLAND ASSISTANT LAWRIE McMENEMY...

'ENGLAND have got through the qualifying stages, which everyone thought would be the most difficult part - and even though we lost against France, it was something of a moral victory.

To concede two goals from two set-pieces in injury time is something I doubt very much will happen again.

But subsequent goals from Croatia are a sobering reminder that there's still work to be done at the back. The players don't need fitness work anymore. All that has been done, but they do need to brush up on how they deal with set pieces.

Corners and free-kicks are more and more important at this level and, with delivery always of a high quality, we have not defended too well against them.

Messrs Beckham and Owen, who were in everyone's top three to get the England goals, have yet to come up with the goods.

But on the plus side, not only have we got strong midfielders capable of scoring such as Scholes, Gerrard and Lampard, but young Rooney has more than passed the test on the big stage.

His potential has never been in doubt but his ability to handle the big occasion temperament-wise was the thing on trial. So far he has, and even his after-match interviews have impressed.

From now on, the most important person in the boy's future, apart from Everton manager David Moyes, will be a fella called Paul Stretford, his agent.

Paul Gascoigne, publicising his book this week, has said that Wayne has to be careful not to follow the same path as he did - thus the importance of the lad's agent.

I don't think England have anyone to fear in a one-off situation.

I'm confident of our chance against Portugal after being out there and watching their first match.

Figo is their main man but is coming to the end of a glorious career, while Ronaldo, who adds sparkle down the wing, should not exactly frighten his Premiership opponents, particularly his own Manchester United colleagues such as Gary Neville who, along with Sol Campbell, is having an excellent tournament.

When I saw them, the Portugal defence looked nervous and gave the ball away far too much.

Having said, subsequent results show that they have improved as the days have gone by. They are, after all, the host nation yet amazingly we'll outnumber them, certainly when it come to vocal support.

While some of us will already be looking to see who we might be up against in the semi-finals, you can be sure Sven and his staff are concentrating solely on Portugal, with the old adage 'one game at a time' coming very much into force.

While wishing him and the boys good luck, I've a feeling that many more St George's flags will be attached to cars in the next week or two.'