Defoe trained with international squad in Sardinia before the Championships got underway, but was only on placed on standby.

Sven-Goran Eriksson opted to leave the prolific forward out of his final 23 and suffered no injuries in Portugal, so Defoe was forced to watch the games on holiday in the Caribbean.

But the 21-year-old was determined to start the season in impressive fashion and wasted no time getting on the score-sheet when he netted for Tottenham during their 1-1 draw against Liverpool on the opening day of the season.

And Eriksson has rewarded the Spurs striker by naming him in the squad for the friendly against Ukraine on Wednesday night - something Defoe is relishing as he aims to renew his partnership with Michael Owen.

Defoe said: "It's a good experience for me to be in training with the squad again. It was definitely disappointing for me to miss out of Euro 2004 after being involved in Sardinia.

"I went on holiday to the Caribbean to see my grandparents, but I watched the tournament and thought 'I wish I was there'. But the boys did well out there.

"I have to put that behind me, and work hard now that I am in the squad again.

"It's always nice to get a goal in the first game of the season, and I'm glad it was in front of the England manager.

"There have been big changes at Spurs with the new manager, and there have been a lot of additions to the squad. But hopefully this can be a big season for me.

"Michael Owen is a great player, and I think we can link up well together. I don't think it matters that we are both quite small - I have played with Robbie Keane at Spurs, and neither of us is very big."

16 August 2004    
Jermain Defoe Press Conference - AUDIO