The 25-year-old striker made his Three Lions debut against Colombia last May, just reward after netting 17 goals for Southampton in the 2004/05 season, and has gone on to win five caps for England since the tour of America.

A £7m switch to Liverpool soon followed and although Crouch took time to settle into his new team - he went 19 games before breaking his duck - he never let his head drop and has gone on to score 12 goals for his club including a brace in their 7-0 demolition of Birmingham in the quarter-finals of The FA Cup.

The 6'7" striker has also grown in confidence with every game he has played under Sven-Goran Eriksson - culminating in him opening his account for his country in England's 2-1 win over Uruguay at Anfield in March this year.

Benitez believes the imposing striker has got what it takes to become one of the stars of the tournament in Germany this summer.

He said: "Peter has the temperament and can handle the responsibility. He has confidence in himself.

"What we must remember is how he dealt with things when he went all those games without scoring a goal.

"People were talking and talking but he continued working hard and he has now scored 12 goals for us this season. He has enough quality and experience for England."