Is Ledley the new England King pin?

True, the past failings of mistakes in big games were evident once again - as an Emile Heskey foul and a terrible Steven Gerrard back-pass handed victory to France - but The Three Lions were ahead for a huge portion of the encounter.

The performance of teenage striker Wayne Rooney, the youngest player to take the field at a European Championship since Enzo Scifo, overshadowed the lacklustre display of his attacking partner and senior England international Michael Owen.

Rooney gave David Beckham the perfect chance to secure victory when forcing Mikael Silvestre to bring him down in the box after making a mug of Lilian Thuram.

That Beckham saw his spot kick magnificently saved by Fabien Barthez should not detract from Rooney's contribution as he looked every inch the England international.

Sven Goran Eriksson came into the game with a defensive headache due to the absence of key players, but he may well head away from the game with a different problem to chew over.

John Terry would almost certainly have started had he been fit, but his absence left Eriksson with few options to juggle.

He plumped for Tottenham's Ledley King and it proved an astute piece of judgement from the Swede as he demonstrated real class alongside Sol Campbell.

Time and again King made vital interceptions, blocks and tackles as well as showing astute positional play and he will be desperate to gain another cap against Switzerland on Thursday.

There may be a part of Eriksson which hopes Terry fails to prove his fitness, as he would face a difficult choice if the Chelsea man is passed fit.

Terry has developed into one of the most accomplished defenders in The Premiership and looks sure to figure regularly for his country, but King has thrown down the gauntlet and will be hugely disappointed if he is left out on Thursday.