Sometimes in sport, as in life, there is nothing for it but to accept reality and give up.

The rally driver who loses his eyesight must face up to the fact that he won't be challenging the leading Finns in Nairobi next year, and the darts player who loses his arms in a freak power-saw accident knows in his heart that he won't be taking Phil 'The Power' Taylor to any more deciding sets.

Some losses are too devastating to be compensated for, in other words, and this is the stage we have now reached with the England left.

There was a time when England had a left full of left-footed players such as Stuart Pearce, Chris Waddle, John Barnes, Graeme Le Saux and others, splendid it was too. But then it sort of fell off, and now there is no real left at all.

First Glenn Hoddle and now Kevin Keegan have approached the problem by taking bits of right and transplanting them, but the left rejected them and it never worked. So now is the time for a radical solution: a week today against Portugal, England must abandon all pretence of having a left at all - and play with everyone on the right.

I am not arguing that England should line up for the kick-off in this formation. That would be ridiculous. Where would the element of surprise be in that?

No, after 55 minutes, those on the left must suddenly race over to the right. Fans of Rocky II may note a parallel with the Italian Stallion's dramatic change from southpaw to orthodox that decisively fooled Apollo Creed. Why would the switch be any less bamboozling for the Portuguese than it was for Creed, the globally-acknowledged Master of Disaster?

With the tactic instantly becoming the talking point of world football, it will be pointless to try to kid Germany and Romania, and from the start those teams will evidently have unusual attacking freedom down their right, the non-existent England left. However, having two sets of players on the right will have a double benefit for England far outweighing any disadvantage.

The variety of potential overlapping runs becomes immense. And with baffled opponents rushing to defend against the threat, holes will appear in the centre of midfield for Steve McManaman and Paul Scholes to exploit. If it sounds crazy, so did total football before the Dutch showed how it worked in 1974. Once upon a time, men laughed when the wheel was described to them. Let them laugh again.

If Kevin Keegan should reject this scheme, however, England's chances evaporate. It's true that in major tournaments, even teams with such severe tactical weaknesses that they are dominated in possession by the Ukraine at Wembley, can click into something formidable, while England's spirit and history often lift the team above its tactical limitations in big games against stronger opposition. So if we can squeeze through the group . . . well, you never know.

So much for the wild optimism. The hard facts are that there are too many superior, well-balanced sides. The French are little changed since the World Cup and if Zidane isn't quite the player he was, then the emergence of Henry and Anelka as genuine goal scorers may more than compensate.

Holland may have been even better than France in 1998, and certainly deserved to test the point after outplaying Brazil in the semi - with home advantage they are worthy favourites.

As for Spain, if they can avoid the usual awful luck and fleeting lapses in concentration, they might lose their status as football's greatest underachievers.

The Czech Republic have a fair chance on the form book, Italy can raise themselves to unexpected heights when it matters and it wouldn't be a pre-tournament round-up without the cliché of clichés: you can never rule out the Germans.

Actually, this time I think you can, but there are still too many teams with too much talent and sophistication for England to be anything but distant outsiders.

That, at least, is the assessment presuming Mr Keegan plays it safe and sticks to a conventional formation. If he has the courage and the wit to amputate the left, however, that first major title since 1966 will be ours within the month.