Crouch ready to lead line

Last updated : 23 June 2006 By Al Campbell
Owen is out of the World Cup with a serious injury, Wayne Rooney is only just coming back from an injury lay-off and Theo Walcott is untested at international level so the pressure is on Peter Crouch to lead the line for England. The Liverpool striker is confident he's up to the task.

"When I wasn't scoring I always felt confident in my ability and I had great people around me like the manager at Liverpool, and now I feel I am playing well and I can score goals," he says.

"I'm as disappointed as anyone else Michael has gone home as he's a top class player. I'm new to the squad and people will try and compare me to Michael but I am a different type of player. Hopefully I can answer those questions in the best way possible by scoring goals and do as well as I possibly can.

"I'm enjoying it and scoring against Trinidad and Tobago was a great feeling. To score in a World Cup was an amazing feeling for me and I want to go on and get a few more goals and play a few more games in the tournament. I feel I can make an impact. I've scored six in six for England now and hopefully I can keep that going."

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