AS if Steve McClaren did not have enough to worry about after two semi-final defeats in the space of four days, he is also now in danger of missing out on the England job that appeared to be his for the taking less than a week ago.

Brazilian Luiz Felipe Scolari has emerged as a surprise rival to the Middlesbrough boss, with the FA Nominations Panel meeting tomorrow to select the winner of what has become a two-horse race to succeed Sven-Goran Eriksson.

Scolari, who will lead Portugal into this summer's World Cup finals in Germany, is now the only alternative to McClaren after the FA's power-brokers rejected the claims of Martin O'Neill, who had been the preferred choice of chief executive Brian Barwick.

Alan Curbishley and Sam Allardyce are also out of the running.

With a final decision expected before the start of next week, McClaren remains the favourite, despite presiding over Boro's FA Cup semi-final defeat to West Ham.

But, while Scolari's agent, Acaz Felleger, insists his client will not consider becoming England manager until the World Cup has ended, the South American remains McClaren's biggest threat.

"We are two months away from the World Cup and Luiz Felipe Scolari is focused on his job in Portugal," said Felleger, who refused to rule his client out of the running. "He just needs to do a good World Cup and after this he might talk about his future.

"If the FA are really interested to sign him they should have been focused on their work for the World Cup like Felipe Scolari is at the moment. England must think first of this World Cup and then of other issues."

Despite a groundswell of popular support for an English manager, Scolari's proven track record, allied to his strong performance at a second interview, has damaged McClaren's chances of leading his country.

Arsenal vice-chairman David Dein has consistently championed Scolari's cause throughout the FA's drawn-out selection process.

The South American's credentials are far stronger than those of any other candidate. He has won two Copa Libertadores (the South American equivalent of the Champions League), guided Brazil to World Cup victory in 2002 and led Portugal to the final of 2004's European Championships. And he will be available to take over from Eriksson at the end of this summer's finals.

Despite International Committee chairman Noel White and Premier League chairman Dave Richards insisting Eriksson's successor must be English, Dein is maintaining his opposition to McClaren's appointment.

Despite FA sources suggesting the Boro boss was as good as installed at the start of last week, the former Manchester United assistant has never been the governing body's unanimous choice.

Indeed, it is understood that McClaren was not considered an outstanding first choice by any of the six-man Nominations Panel.

Instead, he was considered to be the leading compromise candidate, able to unite a divided FA which had increasingly been pulling in different directions.

But, while Dein had initially agreed to fall into line with the majority, he is now believed to be digging his heels in.

The Arsenal chief, who is currently in Villarreal preparing for his side's Champions League semi-final second leg, has been worried by the negative public reaction that accompanied news of McClaren's front-running role last week.

A number of public polls have placed the Boro boss at the bottom of a list of the five candidates who have been interviewed for a second time.

A survey of the nation's chief football writers also ended with no votes having been cast in McClaren's favour.

Yet while Dein will continue to campaign for Scolari's appointmen, his FA colleagues remain sceptical about the South American's chances.

Bypassing all English candidates for the second time running would not go down well with a public that has grown increasingly disillusioned with Eriksson's lack of emotional ties to the post.

While Scolari's managerial ability is not in doubt, his reputation as a footballing mercenary undoubtedly counts against him. England would become the third country to be led by the Brazilian in the space of four years, a situation that is unlikely to be popular among the rank and file support.

There are also practical hurdles that would need to be overcome before Scolari was installed.

He is clearly unwilling to accept the England job prior to this summer's finals, something the FA had previously identified as a pre-requisite for the post.

Should he emerge as first choice, the FA would be keen to reach a financial agreement before they confirmed Scolari's appointment to the public.