MICHAEL OWEN became the youngest ever England goalscorer to earn his country a 1-0 victory against Morocco in Casablanca yesterday. But manager Glenn Hoddle will be forced to ask himself a lot of searching questions after a game where England performed abysmally for the first 45 minutes and even allowed their opponents an incredible 17 shots on goal. Had it not been for some inept finishing from the home side the result may well have been less flattering to Hoddle's side, but whatever the scoreline, the England manager will now have to take a long, hard look at the balance and structure of his side particularly in midfield. Both Paul Gascoigne and Darren Anderton failed to answer the questions posed about both their stamina and form, while Steve McManaman only showed what he is truly capable of in fits and starts. The decisive goal came in the 59th minute. McManaman received the ball wide on the England left and flicked it inside towards his Liverpool teammate Owen, breaking at speed from the half-way line. Owen shrugged off a hefty challenge before driving towards goal at pace in the manner which has seen him become the Premiership's joint top scorer this season. Dion Dublin was free and unmarked on the edge of the penalty area, but where many players would have squared the ball, Owen had just one thing on his mind. He drew the advancing keeper and slotted the ball home from distance with his right foot, then wheeled away in triumph as the ball nestled into the bottom corner of the net. It was a tremendous strike from the 18-year-old, who will now be giving Hoddle serious headaches as he considers his striking options for England's opening World Cup game against Tunisia in Marseille on June 15th. With Manchester United's Teddy Sheringham - for so long the natural choice to partner Alan Shearer upfront obviously out of form, many will be calling for the inclusion of Owen in the starting line-up. And the youngster's claims will be boosted both by an unconvincing performance from Hoddle's chosen starter Dublin and an unfortunate injury to his strike partner Ian Wright, who was forced to limp off with a hamstring problem after just 26minutes. Owen replaced the Arsenal striker, but could have soon followed him back to the dressing room, when a clash with Moroccan keeper Benzekri just outside the penalty area actually left him unconscious for a short period. Fortunately Owen recovered and went on to produce that special piece of skill which won the game. Defensively England looked suspect, allowing Morocco's pacey attackers Salaheddine Bassir and Rachid Rokki too much time and space. Sol Campbell and Gareth Southgate didn't dominate the way Hoddle would have hoped and it was left to Arsenal's Martin Keown to Marshall the back-line and keep the Moroccan side winners in their last nine home matches at bay. But if the defence was a worry, then Gascoigne's performance was of even greater concern. The Middlesbrough man looked off the pace and devoid of ideas until the last ten minutes of the match, when two forceful incursions into the Moroccan penalty area gave glimpses of the Gascoigne of old. But England's most talented player never took the game by the scruff of the neck and will need to prove against Belgium on Friday that he really is the man who can be the creative hub of England's World Cup challenge. It's surely worrying that this crucial issue remains unresolved so late in the day. A win is a win is a win, of course, but definite conclusions need to be drawn quickly and this match surely won't have provided Hoddle with any concrete answers to his many dilemmas. Morocco v England Morocco 0 (0) England (0) 1 England: Flowers, Keown, Le Saux, Ince, Campbell, Southgate, Anderton, Gascoigne, Dublin (L. Ferdinand 79), Wright (Owen 26), McManaman. Subs Not Used: R. Ferdinand, Walker, Neville, Butt, Lee. Booked: Keown. Goals: Owen 59. Morocco: Benzekri, Saber, Rossi, Negrouz, Hadrioui, Chiba (Amzine 63), Taher, Chippo (Sellami 79), Bassir, Ouakili (Reda 73), Rokki (El Khattabi 63). Subs Not Used: Triki, Abrami, Azzouzi, Laroussi, Abdeiaoui, Chadi, Chadili. Booked: Rokki. Att: 80,000 Ref: M Daami (Tunisia).

PLAYERS SING UP FOR ENGLAND   ENGLAND'S performance against Morocco in Casablanca yesterday may not have been the most inspired ever, but the players' efforts prior to the game under difficult circumstances couldn't be faulted. The England team sang ‘God Save The Queen' without any music to accompany them before tonight's 1-0 World Cup warm-up victory. When the players lined up for the national anthems in the Mohamed V Stadium expecting the usual formalities, it quickly became apparent that the Moroccan authorities had misplaced the British national anthem ‘God Save The Queen.' But England's players were undaunted by the little mishap and decided that they would sing the anthem regardless. Both Paul Gascoigne and Ian Wright led the efforts of the England side and gave it their all, leading from the front with a singing performance of considerable gusto. And to top it all, England's most patriotic players then gave themselves a round of applause for their sterling efforts once their unaccompanied efforts had been performed.

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