Forward enjoying life at Stoke
Friday 10 October 2014 09:56, UK
Peter Crouch has given up hope of getting another England call-up.
The Stoke striker has an impressive scoring rate at international level, having found the net 22 times in his 42 appearances for England – however, he hasn’t been selected for the national team since netting against France in November 2010.
I’ll never retire from England but it doesn’t look like I’ll get a look-in any more.
The 6ft7in forward has bagged three goals in eight games so far this season in all competitions but was once again overlooked by England boss Roy Hodgson when he named his team for the European Qualifiers with Estonia and San Marino this week.
Crouch told Soccer AM he refuses to retire from international football but fears his days wearing the Three Lions may be over.
“I’d probably say I’ve given up,” he said, when asked about his England ambitions.
“I’ve always loved playing for my country and I really enjoyed every second I had playing for England.
“There were obviously a couple of World Cups, great times. I got 42 caps and really enjoyed it - but it seems to have faded away.
“I think those days are gone for me, which is a shame. I’ll never retire from England because those are some of the best days of my career but it doesn’t look like I’ll get a look-in anymore.”
Speaking to Tubes at Stoke’s training ground, the 33-year-old also discussed Stoke’s promising start to the new season.
Mark Hughes’ men registered a shock 1-0 win at reigning champions Manchester City and on Monday Night Football moved up to 11th with victory over Newcastle.
Crouch says the team are on a high – and he’s enjoying playing with pacey team-mates around him.
“It’s nice to have got a couple of goals and be playing games,” he said.
“It’s a lot different to the last couple of seasons. We’ve added a lot more pace now, with Victor Moses, Marko Arnautovic, Mame Biram Diouf. It’s exciting times to be playing.”
