The defending champions' veteran captain Marcel Desailly will start on the bench as he continues to nurse a knee injury.

"Marcel will not start tomorrow," coach Jacques Santini said. "The tests he took showed that he is still far from the physical shape required to play 90 minutes."

Playmaker Zinedine Zidane will skipper the team and the central defensive pair will be Lilian Thuram and Mikael Silvestre.

Also Read Greece stun Portugal Scolari apologises for loss Valeron gives Spain full points

Thuram and Silvestre looked solid in the 1-0 victory over Ukraine last week but their partnership will be tested by English strikers Michael Owen and Wayne Rooney.

"My knee is aching and I feel I still need to work to be back at my best," Desailly said.

"Being at 85 per cent is not enough to start in a match like tomorrow's, especially at my age."

Desailly, who has earned a French record 115 caps, will retire after the European Championship.

England's John Terry also misses out as he has failed to recover fully from an hamstring injury.

"He trained a little with us today, then he did some fitness work and, hopefully, he will join in tomorrow," Eriksson told a news conference.

Whoever starts is certain to face a tough test from strikers Thierry Henry and David Trezeguet, returning from an ankle injury and looking in great shape.

"It's going to be a very tight game as no side can consider himself better than the other. You can't expect a large difference in the scoring. Every detail will matter," Desailly said.

Probable teams:

France: 16-Fabien Barthez; 15-Lilian Thuram, 5-William Gallas, 13-Mikael Silvestre, 3-Bixente Lizarazu; 7-Robert Pires, 4-Patrick Vieira, 6-Claude Makelele, 10-Zinedine Zidane; 12-Thierry Henry, 20-David Trezeguet

England: 1-David James; 2-Gary Neville, 16-Jamie Carragher, 6-Sol Campbell, 3-Ashley Cole; 7-David Beckham, 11-Frank Lampard, 4-Steven Gerrard, 8-Paul Scholes; 9-Wayne Rooney, 10-Michael Owen

Referee: Markus Merk (Germany)

Linesmen: Christian Schraer (Germany), Jan-Hendrik Salver (Germany)