England's Capello excited about Crouch

Soccer Betting Lines

03/04/2010 - London, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Fabio Capello believes Peter Crouch's ability to change games makes him a vital player in his England squad.

Crouch virtually secured his seat on the plane to South Africa for the World Cup with a brace of goals during Wednesday's 3-1 victory over Egypt.

The Tottenham striker replaced ineffective club-mate Jermain Defoe at half- time and bagged two goals in England's final game before Capello names his provisional World Cup squad.

He has now scored 20 goals in 37 international appearances for the Three Lions.

Shaun Wright-Phillips, who came on for captain Steven Gerrard midway through the second period, was also on target during a much-improved second-half display.

"Peter Crouch is a big option for me because sometimes you can play long ball," Capello said. "But today we did not play long ball. He played well with some good touches.

"In the second half that made the difference because when you go forward the other team go for him.

"I am happy he had a lot of chances but I have to pick a lot of players. Crouch is one of the players."

Meanwhile, Capello thanked the England fans for their support despite some sections of the Wembley crowd opting to boo John Terry in the early stages of the game.

Terry was recently stripped of the captaincy following a series of lurid reports concerning his private life and an alleged dalliance with a former club and international team-mate's ex-girlfriend.

"Thank you for the crowd. They supported the team and John Terry," added Capello. "This was a most important game for him after what happened outside the pitch.

"He played a fantastic game like I know he can do at this level."

(Courtesy of sportbox.tv)

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FOOTBALL TRASH TALK

NFL Football Trash Talk

Trash talk has a place in every competitive endeavor (except baseball; those stirrup-wearers are too busy chewing on their sunflower seeds and their supplements to worry about what their opponents are doing).

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