With two goals in last night’s game against Belarus, Peter Crouch surely booked his place his Fabio’s squad for South Africa. Capello clearly has some reservations about our lanky forward and has used him sparingly, but his scoring record at international level cannot be ignorred.
It will be interesting now to see if Capello gives Crouch a chance to impress alongside Rooney. Heskey clearly brings out the best in Rooney, but is unlikely to be troubling the top scorers list.
Even if he doesn’t go to South Africa as Rooney’s starting partner, at the very least Crouch offers a great alternative from the bench. There’s very few England strikers around with a decent international scoring record and with Michael Owen currently being eschewed, Crouch has to be there alongside Rooney, Defoe and either one of the big lumps that play in claret and blue.
The heat in Africa, combined with the fact that many matches will be played at high altitude, mean that substitutions will be vital. Even from the bench, Crouch will get his chances to shine. I for one am looking forward to seeing some more robotic dancing from our towering striker.
