England v Ukraine
2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™ Qualifier
8pm, Wednesday 1 April 2009
Wembley Stadium
Live on ITV1
Click here to buy the programme

Rio Ferdinand believes Ukraine face a daunting task when they try to keep Peter Crouch quiet at Wembley on Wednesday.

Crouch has shaken off a knock sustained in Saturday's 4-0 thrashing of Slovakia and will lead the line alongside Wayne Rooney in England's World Cup qualifier against their Group Six rivals.

And Ferdinand, who is also back and ready for action following injury, says Crouch is the man to fear.

"When Crouch comes on he scores. If you look at his record at international level it is good," Ferdinand said.

"He poses a different threat than anyone else in the team and international players cannot deal with him.

"He knows his strengths and if we can play to them then that would be good.

"If we beat Ukraine we would be in a strong position but it would by no means be over. If we can get a positive result it would be great but we must keep our focus," he added.

"It can quickly change from positive to negative so there is no room for complacency.

"We need to make sure we do what the manager says. The manager has his ideas and methods on how to beat Ukraine and we have to put them into practice."

Rooney, meanwhile, was named England fans' player of the season on Monday and with seven goals in his last four internationals, the Manchester United striker is leading the charge on the road to South Africa 2010.

And United team-mate Ferdinand has hailed Rooney's impact and says his form has been vital in England's surge to the top of their group.

"With the injuries we have had, Rooney is crucial," Ferdinand added. "We must make sure he is doing the right thing. His accolade is richly deserved, he is performing consistently and this is great for us."