NEVILLES TO EQUAL RECORD

By the time England fly back from Barcelona next Wednesday night, the Charltons will probably have been eclipsed as England's premier footballing family.

Should Phil Neville face Israel and Andorra - and all the signs are that he will - he and his brother Gary will between them have surpassed the 141 caps won by Sir Bobby and Jack Charlton. And yet when reminded of this, Phil Neville appeared taken aback.

''To be honest, it probably means more to my mum, dad and grandparents because for me and Gary to be mentioned in the same breath as Jack and Sir Bobby is probably slightly embarrassing,'' he said. ''They were great players for England and they won something with England. We haven't won anything."

That the younger Neville has played 55 times for his country is surprising - not because of any lack of ability but because he has never had a position to make his own. "Maybe I could have been an outstanding right-back," he said yesterday. In Tel Aviv, Neville may have to be.

England team-mate Owen Hargreaves, another who has suffered because of his own versatility, has remarked that when you first come into a side - whether it be Bayern Munich or your country - you are happy to play anywhere. By the time you reach a certain age, that willingness to please begins to be replaced by a certain self-interest.

Neville, now captaining Everton from full-back after excelling as a holding midfielder last season, said: ''That's probably true. At the start you just want to play for England and then you want to start to cement your place in one particular position. But now I am at that stage again where I just want to play anywhere - I just want to play for my country.

''If I had been classed as a right-back throughout my whole career, I probably wouldn't have got 10 caps with Gary in the way because he has probably been the most outstanding full-back in Europe over the past 10 years or so. It has been a blessing in disguise that I can play in a number of positions, otherwise I wouldn't have got the number of caps I have."