Crouch: Battle with Terry can convince England boss Capello to recall me

17 September 2009 11:23
Peter Crouch is hoping that a good game against England captain when Tottenham Hotspur visit Chelsea on Sunday will help him retain his place in Fabio Capello's squad. The striker was included for the recent games against Slovenia and Croatia after being overlooked for the friendly against Holland in August. Capello has said he will give fringe players a chance in the now academic remaining 2010 World Cup qualifying ties against Ukraine and Belarus. Crouch, who started Spurs' opening four Barclays Premier League games on the bench, was happy with the way he played against Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic last Saturday even though Spurs lost 3-1 and said: 'I was pleased to start against United and felt I was causing them problems. 'I hit the bar and was pleased to get my first 90 minutes in the Premier League. I'm hoping I can continue to play and form a partnership with Jermain [Defoe]. 'Vidic is a tough customer. I had a real battle with him. Out there against two of the world's best centre-halves I thought I held my own. 'It will be the same at Chelsea. We have fantastic defenders in the Premier League but I'm confident in my ability and I can always do well.' The visit to Stamford Bridge to take on Chelsea, who have won every game under Carlo Ancelotti, is another huge test for Harry Redknapp's side against the league leaders. Crouch said: 'It's another chance to see how close to the top teams we are. If we can get a result there people will start talking us up again. We've got to keep pressing them at every opportunity, force them into errors and not let them play. 'Our work-rate has been fantastic this season. With our quality we can always play but we must make sure we work hard and match them in that area.'

Source: Daily_Mail