England v Macedonia
UEFA European Championship Qualifying Group E
5pm, Sat 7 October 2006
Old Trafford, Manchester
Steve McClaren's England Record - Click here

05 October 2006
VIDEO: Peter Crouch press conference
As England prepare for Macedonia, Peter Crouch says he has proved himself at international level.
04 October 2006
VIDEO: England training pre-Macedonia
Steve McClaren puts the Three Lions through their paces as they prepare to take on Macedonia and Croatia.
Peter Crouch must be looking forward to the day when he attends an England press conference and no-one asks him about his doubters. And surely it can't be far away.

After 11 goals in 14 games for his country he is very much England's most in-form player. But his suitability for that role was still the topic of conversation as the Liverpool striker spoke ahead of Saturday’s crucial Euro 2008 qualifier against Macedonia.

You have to wonder what more the Three Lions star can do, having answered just about every question thrown at him over the last year.

Anyone who thought his touch on the floor wasn’t good enough has been proved dramatically wrong. Anyone who thought he wasn’t good enough to score goals at international level has been proved spectacularly wrong. And anyone who thought he would never score with a scissor kick every bit as acrobatic as a Hugo Sanchez special has been made to eat humble pie, too.

"Maybe sometimes I do feel as though I need to do a little bit more than others to impress, but that's something I have to live with," admitted Crouch.

"But as long as I'm doing well and scoring goals I don't think people can criticise. I look at my manager at England and my manager at Liverpool and my team-mates and they all seem to be happy with how I am doing at the moment. All I can do is keep going in the same manner.

"I believe I have proved myself, whereas other people take a different view. Personally, I feel as though I have done enough. I will keep trying to improve and do more but as long as I am pleasing my manager and team-mates, that's all I can do.

"I'm playing Champions League football with Liverpool, we're challenging for things at club level and I am playing international football. I'm doing okay on those stages and hopefully I can keep that going.

"Everyone I meet in the streets, the fans, are all complimentary to me as I seem to be turning a few people around."

Crouch’s performances for England have been an eye-opener for many supporters who weren’t sure when he was first called up for his country on a tour of the United States in the summer of 2005.

But ever since he scored his fist goal for his country, against Uruguay at Anfield this year, he has been on fire - scoring 11 goals in one calendar year.

His famous robotic celebration was one of the stories of the summer and his performances for Liverpool have made him an icon too.

He said: "When you are playing at a high profile club like Liverpool, people see a lot more of you and see that I can play. I think it's the same at international level, now people are seeing me play a lot more whereas in the past they'd make a judgement without seeing me play. Now people have seen over a number of games what I can do."

You have to admire Crouch’s friendly patience when it comes to these issues. He never shirks a question and answers them all with a smile. But does a man who produced such an acrobatic and astonishing goal for Liverpool against Galatasaray in the Champions League recently really need to prove himself any more?

If anyone thinks that goal was a fluke then remember he also scored a similar effort for England in Skopje, and who knows there could be more to come in the home game against Macedonia this weekend.

"You have got to be confident to try something like that," he said. "I felt like I was having a good game against Galatasaray and when the game's going well you try those things. When they come off it's even better and it was great for me to score.

"It's a difficult skill to do, I don't want to brag and I can't really because I missed a similar one against Trinidad in the World Cup quite horribly. But I try these things in training and more often than not they do come off. I have always believed that I could do things like that and been comfortable trying them. It surprises some people that I can do them but I’m confident."

You have to admire that attitude and every time he plays for England it seems that Crouch reveals another hidden talent, another hidden depth.

So whatever people have said in the past he’s very much at home in a Three Lions shirt these days and every inch an international striker.

No doubts about that.

Stay with TheFA.com as we build-up to England v Macedonia.