DAVID Beckham and his 100th cap might vie with the Eiffel Tower as the top attraction in the City of Lights this week, but there is a much more important sub-plot to England's friendly against France.
It is whether new manager Fabio Capello can succeed where others failed in coaxing the best out of England's so-called "golden generation".
The fact that Beckham, pushing 33 and in virtual semi-retirement over in Los Angeles, is here at all tells
us all we need to know about the depth of home-bred world-class talent in the English game.
If Shaun Wright-Phillips and Aaron Lennon had grasped the chances given to them on the right by previous managers then Beckham's international career would have ended long ago.
But Beckham's latest call-up was not borne out of sentiment or by some dollar-counting agenda at the FA. Capello does not do sentiment.
Beckham is here because Capello, after trawling Premier League grounds for 10 weeks, has concluded that real quality, the sort which can influence the biggest games on the grandest stages, is scarce among players holding English passports.
It is why 15 of Capello's 23-strong squad against France were also stalwarts of England's World Cup campaign in 2006.
There is no hidden seam of talent. The truth is that while the so-called golden generation, comprising such as Beckham, Michael Owen, Rio Ferdinand, Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, Joe Cole and Wayne Rooney, may not glisten as many had hoped, they still form England's best chance of success.
Capello's task is to find a formation and a blend which allows them to play with freedom, rather than the fear and apprehension so miserably demonstrated in the failed Euro 2008 qualifying campaign.
And against a French side missing Thierry Henry, Patrick Vieira, Karim Benzema, Louis Saha and Bacary Sagna, there could not be a better time to launch Capello's 'No fear' mandate against a top footballing nation.
Expect Capello to bolster Ferdinand and John Terry in defence with at least one holding midfielder in either Gareth Barry or Owen Hargreaves, and perhaps both.
Expect him, too, to have a good look at Gerrard and Lampard to rule once and for all on whether they can or cannot play together, something on which neither Sven-Goran Eriksson nor Steve McClaren ever reached a conclusion.
Expect Rooney to form the main attacking thrust as he did against Switzerland last month, but this time to be more closely supported by either Joe Cole or Gerrard. Do not expect to see too much of Owen, a player running back into goal-scoring form with Newcastle but who Capello simply does not appear to rate as highly as previous England bosses.
And do not expect Beckham's landmark celebration to be managed with anything other than Italian pragmatism by a manager guarded with his intentions, so much so that the players do not find out if they are playing until 10 minutes before they board the team bus bound for the stadium.
But Capello needs to see much more of Blackburn's David Bentley, a player in superb form with young legs and burgeoning talent, than he does of Beckham. It is why the 100th cap could well come as an impact substitution from the bench, heralding a crucial role which might yet secure Beckham's England future as far as the World Cup in 2010.
Whatever the formation and the personnel, however, one thing is certain. Capello's England must set the standards for respect which parts of the Premier League let down so glaringly this past week.
That means no intimidation of officials, no abusive swearing, no Ashley Cole-style contempt. Nothing, in fact, which could deflect from their performance on the pitch. In more ways than one the golden generation has one last chance to shine.
The full article contains 660 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
