Source: Team_Talk
Defoe ready to be penalty hero
Tottenham striker Jermain Defoe is ready to become England's World Cup penalty hero against Germany on Sunday.[LNB] England tackle their old rivals in Bloemfontein bidding to book a place in the quarter-finals.[LNB]Although Defoe is keen to get the job done inside 90 minutes, the history of combat with Germany suggests England might end up taking part in a penalty shoot-out, which they have always managed to lose.[LNB]The Three Lions are determined it will be different this time around and Fabio Capello has had his team practicing from the moment they first got together in Austria over five weeks ago.[LNB]And, whilst Defoe's recent record for Tottenham is not that great - he has missed six of the last 11 - he is ready for the challenge.[LNB]"There is pressure, but it is a nice pressure because if you score you know it means so much to everyone at home and it is helping the team achieve something special," he said.[LNB]"We have been practicing pretty intensely. We aren't doing the walk from halfway but there is still pressure because all the lads are standing there. If you miss you are going to get a little bit of banter.[LNB]"But most of it is in the mind.[LNB]"Sometimes great players look different to when they play for their club but it's important to be confident.[LNB]"When you are scoring goals it seems like the easiest thing in the world. When you aren't it's the hardest thing. You take an extra touch or snatch at chances."[LNB]With his mum Sandra leading a deputation from the Defoe family due to arrive later today, Defoe is keen to impress, beyond his matchwinner in Port Elizabeth.[LNB]He owes her a big thank you as well, because as he freely admits, Defoe was not exactly a settled figure before they had one of their daily chats on Wednesday morning.[LNB]"I was so fired up I couldn't sleep the night before the game," said Defoe.[LNB]"She really calmed me down and told me I had to relax and enjoy it because it is what I had worked all my life for.[LNB]"Mum was crying before the game, so you can imagine what she was like afterwards."
