Of England's fit strikers Jermain Defoe has had the most time to ponder his role in England's Euro qualifiers. In the opening week of the new season it's been the second choice pairing of Darren Bent and Andy Johnson who have already scored 5 Premiership goals between them, but only have 2 caps each.
England boss Steve McClaren said: "I've told the players they are running two agendas. They're not just at a club, they are running the England agenda and I want them to run parallel with each other. They have to say to themselves: What do I need to do to improve my game when I get called up for England? Sometimes that has been forgotten about previously in the periods between games."
"Andy Johnson has started the season well with his new club. David Moyes has been delighted with how well he's settled in at Everton."
"He's proved his worth in the past in the England squad. I watched him the other night and he led the line well and worked so hard for the team.''
Only Peter Crouch who made his England debut in May 2005 went to the World Cup. Theo Walcott has been demoted to the Under-21's since McClaren took over from Sven Goran Eriksson.
He added: "I spoke to Theo and said he needed games. That was why we put him in the Under-21s. I spoke to Pat Rice at Arsenal last week and he's been delighted with him.
"Theo is somebody we've looked very closely at, but I just felt this time that he needed games before I could consider him.
"He's had a lot to contend with, but he was training with us and he was excellent. He was professional when we were out in Germany - he was a treat to work with.''
Michael Carrick will be more determined than ever to become an established international following his big money move to Manchester United in the summer.
"Alex Ferguson told me Michael Carrick has been training well and should be ready for the two games. It's a shame his start at United has been disrupted," added McClaren.
Source: TheFA.com