KICK him out! He's not fit to play for England! He's just a fat, drunken yob! He eats kebabs! Aah, yes. But he's good enough to play for Brazil. The tabloids may want Gazza hung, drawn and quartered (as long as he kept feeding them stories throughout his slow, painful demise), but the man who steered Brazil to the championship of the world reckons Gascoigne of Gateshead would be in his Brazil side if he's been Paul from Sao Paolo. Carlos Alberto Parreira, who managed Brazil at USA 94 and will be in charge of Saudi Arabia against Gazza and Co at Wembley today, claims that the Middlesbrough midfielder is "good enough to play for Brazil". Parreira, who has also managed Kuwait against England in 1982, and the UAE at Italia 90, added: He would certainly be good enough to play for the world champions. He can turn a game with a single moment of genius. If he's fully fit, he is one of the best and most creative players in the world and very exciting to watch. There's no doubt he is crucial to England's hopes." Gascoigne is not entirely at the peak of fitness after only playing the full 90 minutes only five times since the end of November. But he should be fresh and raring to go after finishing the season on a high with promoted Boro and will probably play a major part in all three of England's pre-France friendlies, beginning in the starting line-up against the Arabians. If the past is anything to go by, the one player most likely to light up Wembley today will be Gascoigne. He revels in minor internationals when the opposition should provide enough space and little physical threat to him running amok in midfield. While Parreira will have his team fully briefed on how to close down Gazza and push him deep to stop him receiving the ball in dangerous places, he may not be able to stop the former Lazio man running the game. And in typically Brazilian style, Parreira defended Gascoigne's lifestyle, so long as it is not to the detriment of his football. "He is a free spirit and he needs to be his own man," says the former Valencia and Fenerbahce manager. "You cannot change him without changing the player himself and then he may not be as good. He knows what is needed to be a footballer. He can survive on his own without being told. Gascoigne is the type of player who changes things. If he is playing well then England will be difficult to stop. ENGLAND SHORTS... ENGLAND fans have been asked not to boo opposing teams' national anthems by Glenn Hoddle because it only makes them more determined to win. Fans' jeering of the Portuguese anthem before last month's friendly at Wembley upset both Hoddle and his players, and he has called on the 65,000 expected at today's friendly against Saudi Arabia to show some respect. It does nothing except wind up the opposition, which is hardly what we want, he said. Booing foreign anthems is the last thing we want our fans to be doing in France.'' BRYAN ROBSON has called on former England teammate Hoddle to take Paul Merson to the World Cup. The Middlesbrough manager, who was on the coaching staff last time England entered a major championship - Euro 96 - signed Merson from Arsenal last summer for £5m and watched him lead Boro back into the Premiership at the first attempt. ''Merse has been tremendous," Robson said. "He has had a fabulous season. I hope Glenn rewards him with a place in his final squad because he deserves it.'' ENGLAND have sent former Arsenal star Kenny Sansom to America on a spying mission. Sansom will watch today's match in New York between Scotland and England's Group G rivals Colombia and brief Glenn Hoddle on the South Americans' danger men. WATCHING England at Wembley, meanwhile, will be ten people who weren't expecting to be, courtesy of Umbro, sponsors and suppliers of the team's kit. The winners of our competition yesterday for two tickets each to England v Saudi Arabia are Sophie Cutner, Matthew Jessop, Ashok Raman, Alex Ratinski and Darren Skeels. Four out of five asked us 'are you serious?' or 'are you joking?' when contacted with the good news.

SAUDI SHEARER'S EUROPEAN DREAM   SAUDI ARABIA'S star striker Sami Al-Jaber is hoping that he gets the chance to shine at Wembley today and earn himself a move to Europe. While the cliché of Asian or African players wanting 'big-money moves' to Western Europe does not apply in the Arabian's case - he is paid handsomely by his club, Al-Hilal Al-Jaber is desperate to show what he can do, against England and then in the World Cup next month. The 25-year-old is one of Asia's top players and easily the best player in Saudi, the Alan Shearer of the desert state. He holds goalscoring records, has won every domestic honour and has won the Asian Cup Super Cup, scoring both goals in the final, and last month helped Halal to third-place in the Asian Club Championships. "I would prefer to play in Europe now because I have stayed in our league in Saudi for seven or eight years," Sami said. "And after that amount of time you get bored and lose the passion for games. I need to learn and the game in Europe is totally different. You have the wet weather, the physical challenges - it's something I want to experience." But Al-Jaber's chances of being signed by a Premiership, Bundesliga or Serie A club rest not just on his performances at Wembley and the Group C games against Denmark, France and South Africa. Saudi authorities have always prevented players from leaving to play abroad in order to protect the strength of their fledgling professional domestic league, thus costing the stars of their 1994 World Cup campaign the opportunity to try their luck overseas. But Al-Jaber hopes they will relax their restrictions once they appreciate the reflected glory his country would receive if players like him are a success in Europe. He certainly comes highly-rated by his national manager, Brazil's Carlos Alberto Parreira, who knows a thing or two about decent strikers after managing Romario and Bebeto to glory in the last World Cup. "He has been playing affectively for the national team for the last five years so he is a very experienced player," he said. "He is a very skilful player, with very good ball control. He is also very good inside the box he can score goals." He certainly can. And with immaculate timing. His glorious 30-yard volley in the last minute of the final game of the season clinched the league championship for Al-Hilal. Nicknamed 'The Wolf', Sami's ability to pop up with a savage finish on the biggest occasion - often in superb style - suggests that if the Saudis do pull off any shocks in France, he will be at the centre of it. The World Cup draw suggests that the Saudis could repeat their 1994 heroics when they beat Belgium and Morrocco before losing 3-2 to Sweden in the second round. To progress again, the Asian champions will aim to beat South Africa and get at least two points from the France and Denmark games something not outside their reach. "In 1994, people said we were in a difficult group but we still went through," he said. "Now we have confidence. We have very good players and an excellent manager and we can handle it in France." Wembley will be a new experience for Al-Jaber, but judging by his performances in other high-profile games, Tony Adams and Sol Campbell will relax at their peril.

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