Mad Brit Diary: Shearer chooses Florida vacation over serving England in Euro 2004.

England coach Sven Goran Ericksson named his 23-man roster for the European Championship this week as did many national-team coaches. Sadly, the best English striker in the land is not on the roster and that's not Ericksson's fault. Alan Shearer, who scored an impressive 22 goals this season with Newcastle United in the English Premier League, retired from England's national team after the 2000 European Championship and has refused to reconsider

The talented center foward, who has scored more goals in the Premier League than any other player, came in second in scoring this season behind Arsenal's French star Thierry Henry (30). In his career wearing a England jersey, Shearer scored 30 goals in 63 games. So the best scorer in England won't be wearing the Three Lions on his chest next month in Portugal. It doesn't make sense, but nothing will change Shearer's mind.

Without Shearer to chose from, Ericksson named four forwards including Michael Owen, 24, Emile Heskey, 26, Darius Vassell, 23, and Wayne Rooney, 18. Owen is by far England's best hope to put the ball in the net. In his brief international career, Owen has scored 24 goals in 54 games for his country. Heskey has five goals in 40 games. Vassell, who had a difficult season for Aston Villa, but seems to be one of Sven's favorites, has scored four goals in 16 international games.

Then there is the 18-year-old Rooney, who can be brilliant when he wants to be, but didn't do too much for Everton this year. The youngest player ever to score for England, Rooney has played just 11 games for his nation, scoring three goals. Owen had 16 in the league for Liverpool this season, which isn't bad, while Vassell and Rooney each had just nine goals.

In the midfield, England has some extra firepower to back up the front line. Chelsea's Frank Lampard and Manchester United's Paul Scholes can both score goals. Lampard, who had a great season with the Blues, scored 10 goals this season while Scholes earned nine. Meantime, Heskey, 26, will leave Liverpool in a $5.6 million move to Birmingham City which could rise to $10 million depending on his form. Heskey scored 60 goals in 277 games for the Reds.

If Owen can find his old form -- and he has shown flashes this season -- then England may get the ball in the net. Meanwhile, Shearer will be on the beach in Florida kicking sand.

Portuguese champion and Champions League finalist FC Porto will join Celtic, Chelsea, Manchester United, Bayern Munich, Liverpool, Roma, AC Milan, and Galatasaray as part of the ChampionsWorld Series in the United States. Porto will play Liverpool of England at the SkyDome in Toronto, Canada, on Friday, July 30, and Galatasaray of Turkey at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., on Sunday, August 1.

Spanish giant Real Madrid lost its fourth straight league game for the first time in its 102-year history. Madrid fell to third place and, if it remains there, it will have to qualify for the Champions League which might cause the team to cancel its U.S. tour.

Nine English Premier League players were named to the French 23-man squad for the European Championship, they include: Marcel Desailly, William Gallas, Claude Makelele (Chelsea); Mikael Silvestre, Louis Saha (Manchester United); Thierry Henry, Sylvain Wiltord, Robert Pires and Partick Vieira (Arsenal).

The mailbox

Edward Lim writes: "Mad Brit, Reading your posted fan mail, why are Americans so intense regarding FIFA rankings and whether the United States is ranked higher than England? First of all, no one cares about FIFA rankings other than (president) Sepp Blatter and third-world soccer nations. Secondly, what would a friendly with England prove? Bragging rights for Americans if we win? I'll tell you one thing for sure. If the USA were to beat England in a friendly, no one in England would care. Why? Cause they're friendlies!

"These are matches which give managers a look at numerous players so they can choose his best team for upcoming tournaments that count! Please. With the success of the U.S. national team in recent years, you'd think American soccer fans would start acting a little like fans of a legitimate soccer nation. If Thailand beat England in a friendly, its fans should rejoice. If New Zealand beat England in a friendly, its fans should rejoice. USA soccer is past that now."

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