England warmed up for their crucial World Cup qualifier against Croatia with a 2-1 victory over Slovenia in Saturday’s friendly at Wembley.
Frank Lampard put England ahead with a first-half penalty, awarded after a tumble by Wayne Rooney that should extend the current debate over diving, before Jermain Defoe came off the bench to maintain his impressive scoring streak.
Zlatan Ljubijankic got one back for Slovenia late on but this was the perfect preparation for Wednesday’s showdown against Croatia.
A win at Wembley would seal qualification for the World Cup with two games to spare and Fabio Capello’s team look in the right frame of mind to finish the job at the first time of asking.
“At the minute, everything I hit seems to be going in, I’m delighted,” said Defoe.
Asked if he would get a chance to start against Croatia, the Tottenham striker replied: “I don’t know. Everyone wants to play, no-one wants to sit on the bench but if I come on and make an impact, I’ll do that.
“At the end of the day, the manager picks the team. I’ll just keep working hard and see what happens.”
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