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ENGLAND - ENGLAND PIN HOPES ON LIVERPOOL'S CROUCH
Steve McClaren is confident Peter Crouch can fire England to glory against Croatia on Wednesday.
McClaren's top two strikers, Michael Owen and Wayne Rooney, will both miss the Wembley encounter through injury.
Rooney had already been ruled out after picking up an ankle problem in a freak accident at Manchester United's training complex last week.
However, McClaren has now been forced to etch Owen's name onto his injury list following the thigh strain he suffered during Friday night's friendly with over Austria in Vienna.
It is a grievous blow to McClaren at a time when he is also without Wigan's Emile Heskey, who fractured his foot less than a week after his spectacular international renaissance in September.
McClaren is debating whether to call upon reinforcements but already it appears Crouch will start alongside Jermain Defoe against Croatia.
At least the Liverpool man's confidence should be high after he netted his 13th international goal to seal Friday night's win.
It has been widely reported Reds boss Rafael Benitez has decided to offload the 26-year-old during the January transfer window, deeming Crouch surplus to requirements in an Anfield strikeforce boasting the talents of Fernando Torres, Dirk Kuyt and Andrei Voronin.
For England right now though, Crouch is the main man. And McClaren is confident he will deliver.
"Peter Crouch is a handful for anybody," he said.
"He has played quite a few times for Liverpool recently and been quite effective. The goal is bound to help his confidence.
"We may only need one on Wednesday and, if that is the case, we are capable of getting it."
The mathematics of the situation will only be known once events in Tel Aviv and Skopje have reached their conclusion.
But McClaren is acutely aware the combination of Crouch's height and David Beckham's spectacular ability in dead-ball situations is particularly potent.
It worked against Austria and McClaren cannot see why it would not pay off again.
"We are dangerous at set plays," he said.
"We have got Peter Crouch's height and capable midfield players, so there are goals in the team and it is not as if we would need four or five."
By Bettingzone.co.uk
Used with permission.
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