Pick me, Fabio: I'll ensure England get revenge over Croatia, says in-form pocket dynamo Jermain Defoe

Jermain Defoe wants to start Wednesday's World Cup qualifier with Croatia but insists England clinching their place in next summer's finals is more crucial than his own personal ambitions.

Defoe is on a hot streak for his country and has netted five times in his last three internationals - all as a second-half substitute.

He displayed clinical finishing to grab the second goal in yesterday's 2-1 home success against Slovenia at Wembley.

The Tottenham striker would dearly like to be in Fabio Capello's first XI for every game - and there is an added incentive to play against the Croats after they ended England's hopes of reaching the 2008 Euro finals with a 3-2 win at Wembley.

But Defoe is quick to praise the contribution of his team-mates to his current run of form, and knows he faces stiff competition to force his way into the side.

Defoe said: 'Of course, I'd like to be in from the start on Wednesday. You want to play every game for your club and for your country.

'Everyone wants to play. You don't want to sit on the bench. It is a massive game against Croatia.'

England will hardly lack for motivation against a team who wrecked their ambition two years ago.

'We all remember what happened last time against them at Wembley and we don't want to have that feeling again,' said Defoe.

'It is hard to put in words what it felt like two years ago. It was like "it's all over" - we were out of the European Championships before making the finals.

'We want to forget about that and put things right. We have moved on since then, and there has been a great improvement.'

As for his own circumstances, Defoe is prepared to accept whichever role he is given.

'The manager picks the team, and the first-half performance was good from the lads,' he reasons.

'If I don't start, but can come on and make an impact like I did against Slovenia, then I'll do that. Although you want to start, it's also good to get a whole 45 minutes to show what you can do.

'People mention not many players have scored in four games on the trot for England, and it will be great if I can do that. But three points on Wednesday is the most important thing.'

Defoe is not entirely sure what it is that he is doing right - and is simply hoping it continues.

'I don't know the secret of why I keep scoring for England. I am playing with good players so I know am going to get opportunities or get into the positions to score.

'At the moment everything I hit seems to be going in. I'll just keep working hard and see what happens. People say when you work hard you get rewarded - and I am certainly getting that.'

Osrednje ime v tem delu tekme je bil Wayne Rooney. Napadalec Manchester Uniteda je še dan pred tekmo obsojal simuliranje prekrškov v nogometu in Hrvata Eduarda, ki je sprožil aktualno polemiko na Otoku. »Angleži tega za zmage res ne potrebujemo. Vsakega lahko zlomimo s pošteno igro,« je denimo zatrdil Rooney. Nato je prišla 29. minuta tekme, sicer prijazni fant iz Liverpoola je v eni od akcij storil prav to, česar »ne počne«: odlično je zaigral prekršek, ki ga je menda zagrešil Boštjan Cesar, švedski sodnik je brez oklevanja pokazal na belo točko. Samir Handanovič je strel Franka Lamparda sicer »prečital«, a je bil Londončan dovolj natančen. Najhuje pri tem je bilo, da jo je ob Rooneyjevem vlečenju za dres skupil Cesar; naš najbolj izkušeni štoper si je zvil gleženj. Da ne bo pomote: Angleži so na odmor zasluženo odšli s prednostjo, zadeli so še dve vratnici (John Terry, Rooney) in bili boljši. Res, Marko Šuler je imel velike težave z enim od najboljših napadalcev na svetu. Toda v igri gostiteljev - Rooney in Heskey sta dvakrat pobalinsko štartala v telo Handanoviča - je bilo toliko ferpleja, kot ga premore priljubljeni lik iz angleških TV-zaslonov Delboy Trotter.Vlogo »bedaka«  je sinoči igral sodnik Eriksson, odličen »vlečni konj« je bil Rooney (plejmejker, eksekutor ...).

pa ja sam i reko da te liste i služe samo za to...i za ništa više

ne igraju liste na terenu neg igrači i pozicija na listi ne određuje pobjednika utakmice

koji su 'na listi' bili grci prije negoli su osvojili euro???

nevjerujem da bilić ima tolka muda da uvede anasa...iako sam ja za tu opciju

anas jučer nije bio ni rezerva...tako da vjerojatno neće ni na wembleyu bit

IDEMO PO POBJEDU! NAPRID HRVATSKA!!!!!!

bit ce tuzno u srijedu na wembleju. gledajuci dvije ekipe nemamo kod engleza sta traziti. A ako i cak budemo bolji od engleza, sto nije neocekivano, opet cemo se lose provesti jer nam je ekipa puna talenata koji su skloni biserima s vremena na vrijeme pa ce se u srijedu koji i dogodit. No ima ta utakmica u minsku u srijedu pa nada jos postoji...