Alan Smith: England hero warned former colleague (PhilCole/Empics)

No doubt about it, the performance of Smith was the biggest plus point for England at Villa Park. Not only did he show off his own attributes, he also supplied plenty of evidence that he can help Owen thrive in an England jersey for years to come.

I had Gary Lineker and Peter Beardsley working in tandem at two World Cups. It's far too early to say Owen and Smith can repeat their successes but the early signs are certainly promising.

Owen didn't have his most incisive game at international level but we know he is world class. Smith was a revelation, though, in his first full game for England.

What Owen needs is someone who is a smart positional player and Smith fits the bill. They are both a good age to learn to play together, Owen at 22 and Smith 21.

And Smith can only improve now he seems to be first pick at Leeds and getting regular Premiership football. I was disappointed to see Owen taken off after 63 minutes. I'd also like to have seen the two of them kept together for the whole game.

We saw all of Smith's qualities against Portugal, who are a very useful side and have a couple of experienced defenders in Fernando Couto and Fernando Meira.

None of that overawed the Leeds player. He was good in the air, some of his runs were timed just right and the pass he nearly slipped into Owen's path early on showed his vision. Above all, he got a goal and it was also good to see Lee Bowyer making the assist on his debut.

Smith is a brash boy, a confident boy and we saw a brash, confident performance from him. He can also be spiky but he kept his temper in check and I'm sure Terry Venables will be regularly telling him that, in international football, you can't afford to lose your head.

Smith's goal to give England the lead was a beauty. Bowyer on the right did what Emile Heskey failed to do on the left; he delivered a decent, early cross. Smith did the rest - it really was good to see him beat his defender to the near post and finish with a breathtaking final header.

Eriksson stuck to his tried and tested 4-4-2 but he still has a problem about the left-hand side. He tried Heskey there again and it didn't really work again.

It's not that I don't like Heskey - but wide on the left is not his position. On a couple of occasions he had space to attack down the flank but his instinct was to cut back inside rather than attack the space and get crosses in.

Southmpton's Wayne Bridge, who came on at half-time for Ashley Cole at left-back, could solve the left-side quandary. It could be worth pushing him further forward into the area Heskey occupied. He is good on the ball and can beat people; he also put in some quality crosses. Definitely a player worth persevering with.

I was surprised at the number of substitutions Eriksson made. It was our first game after the World Cup and, although only a friendly, I think getting a victory was very important.

England were going well in the first half, so it took me aback that four changes were made at that stage and another three later on. It made a difference because, while England were the better team in the first half, Portugal took the second and deserved their equaliser.

I think Bowyer should have been kept on for 90 minutes so we could have had a proper look at what he could do. He played well, gave the side width and kept possession. But how often is he going to have the chance to play in David Beckham's position?

On a selfish note, I was delighted to see my boy at Newcastle, Hugo Viana, play outstandingly well for Portugal in the second half. He gives me a nice selection headache for Wednesday's game against Leeds - Smithy, Bowyer and all.