England hopeful on Owen

Owen Hargreaves is still in contention for a place in England's midfield for the crucial forthcoming Euro 2008 qualifiers against Israel and Russia.

Hargreaves trained away from his England colleagues earlier this week after suffering a thigh strain. He was sent for a scan, but the results are positive for Steve McClaren. "The scan only revealed a small problem and we're hoping it will clear," he said. "We hope he'll be available for Saturday, he's definitely not ruled out."

With doubts over the fitness of Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard, Hargreaves will be a key figure, although United team-mate Michael Carrick could step in. He is joined by fellow Reds Wes Brown and Rio Ferdinand in McClaren's squad.

Nani and Cristiano Ronaldo are both named in the Portuguese squad to face crucial games against Poland, who have Reds' goalkeeper Tomasz Kuszczak in their squad, and Nemanja Vidic's Serbia on Saturday and next Wednesday respectively. The Serbs first face a must-win home clash with Finland on Saturday.

Patrice Evra's France face a daunting trip to world champions Italy on Saturday, before hosting Scotland - led by Darren Fletcher - a week on Wednesday. The Scots face a home clash with Lithuania before travelling to Paris, however, and could make up ground on the group leaders before they meet.

Holland should have record appearance-maker Edwin van der Sar back in goal when they face Bulgaria and Albania - sides who sandwich them in Group G. Despite missing the start of the season with a groin injury, Jonny Evans will link up with Northern Ireland's squad to face Latvia and Iceland. John O'Shea and Darron Gibson, meanwhile, have been included in the Republic of Ireland squad to face Slovakia and the Czech Republic.