Jermain Defoe’s Inclusion To World Cup 2018 Squad Likely, says Southgate

Jermain Defoe has been a surprise package in the 2016-17 Premier league campaign, as he has been the only real goal scorer for Sunderland this season.

Despite playing in a team that has been stuck to the bottom of the table for much of the campaign, the 34-year-old has been able to plunder 14 goals in the league. This good form has seen him make a step back into the international team. Since making his debut for England back in 2004, Defoe has been in and out of the team. As a result, he has made only 56 appearances for the national team.

He scored his 20th goal for England in the 2-0 win over Lithuania. Jamie Vardy scored the second goal in the second half to register a comfortable win for England. This is only the second win for the national team in the regime of Gareth Southgate, who is already planning for the World Cup 2018 squad.

He says that there is a good possibility of Defoe being involved in the World Cup if he manages to maintain this form and remain in the top divisions. Defoe is out of contract in the summer of 2019, but he is widely expected to leave Sunderland if the club are relegated from the Premier League.

“I think we’ve got to look every time we get together as to who is in form. I don’t know if we can have a distinct pecking order because players who are playing well deserve the opportunity. If we are going to be successful we have to have that competition for places. The reality is we will always lose players to injury – we’re never able to pick a full cohort – so it’s important we can call upon the likes of Jermain and that he can have the impact like he did today,” said Southgate.