The England coach Fabio Capello has a tough choice to make for tomorrow's World Cup qualifier against Croatia at Wembley Stadium because of Jermain Defoe's goal scoring form. Defoe replaced Emile Heskey at half-time in Saturday's 2-1 friendly win over Slovenia, scoring to put England 2-0 ahead with his fifth goal in three England games.
It was his third international goal this season after two against Holland in last month's 2-2 draw in Amsterdam while his club form has been equally impressive with four in four games for Tottenham. Capello must decide whether to start with his preferred partnership of Wayne Rooney and Heskey - or with Defoe and Rooney up front for the match that will see England qualify for next year's World Cup finals in South Africa - should they win.
"When Defoe plays in the second half he scores," said Capello. "I have to choose the side. I have time to decide." Defoe himself is happy to play any part for his country, saying: "Everyone wants to play; no one wants to sit on the bench. But if I can come on and make an impact like I did, I'll do that. At the minute, everything I hit seems to be going in, I'm delighted." Capello, who prefers to play a big man like Heskey alongside Rooney, said he was pleased with the way Heskey performed in the first half against Slovenia.
England lead Group Six with 21 points from their seven matches, with Croatia second (17 from eight games) and Ukraine third (14 from seven). England, 4-1 winners in Croatia last year, are looking to avenge the 3-2 loss at Wembley two years ago which cost them a place in Euro 2008. The Croatia defender Vedran Corluka is out the match after his sending off during Saturday's 1-0 victory over Belarus.
"We were planning specific set plays with him for the England match," coach Slaven Bilic said. "He's strong and means a lot to the team, so we will have to think of something else to find an alternative for his absence at Wembley." France players are getting bored during training sessions and are lost on the pitch, striker Thierry Henry was quoted as telling coach Raymond Domenech yesterday.
Speaking to Domenech last Friday at France's training camp, Henry was quoted by Le Parisien as saying to Domenech: "Coach, we have something to tell you. I am speaking in the name of the squad. We are getting bored during your training sessions. In 12 years with the French team, I have never been in such a situation. "We do not know how to play, where to be on the pitch, how to organise. We do not know what to do. We have no style, no guidelines. It is not working," said Henry, France's top scorer with 49 goals from 112 caps.
France are likely to need a playoff to book their ticket to the 2010 World Cup following a 1-1 home draw against Romania on Saturday that left them trailing Serbia by four points in Group Seven. They travel to Serbia today. The French Football Federation (FFF) insist there is "no urgency" to speak about the matter, but it is sure to pose further questions about Domenech's position which could become untenable anyway should the team not qualify.
FFF president Jean-Pierre Escalettes pledged his support to Domenech, stating: "I repeat: yes, yes, yes. I have to say it three times. He has the job of qualifying us for the World Cup. "And I repeat that even if we have to go into the play-offs, it's still Raymond Domenech's job." * With agencies