England

3-1

Hungary

Gerrard 47, Terry 51, Crouch 84

 

Dardai 55


International Friendly 
Old Trafford, Manchester United FC
8.05pm, 30 May 2006

Peter Crouch hopes his stunning goal against Hungary will help earn him a starting place in England’s World Cup side.

Crouch came off the bench to great effect at Old Trafford, twisting onto an excellent pass from Joe Cole to fire home his second goal for the Three Lions and make it 3-1 on the night.

Now he hopes the strike will give Head Coach Sven-Goran Eriksson a nudge as he makes up his mind about starting eleven to face Paraguay in Germany on 10 June.

"I want to do as much as I can to get into the starting eleven and hopefully tonight I’ve pushed my claim a little bit more," said Crouch.

"That’s my aim. I wanted to make an impression and hopefully I’ve done that and done enough to get a run in the team."

Crouch celebrated his goal with a robotic dance that had fans in the Old Trafford crowd grinning.

He said: "People have said it was a great goal and great celebration. I’m not sure about great celebration but it was a bit of a laugh! It’s been a good week and we’ve had a good bit of banter and that’s what it’s all about."

Crouch will have to wait to see if his performance is enough to earn him a starting place against Jamaica on Saturday, but he was gracious enough to pay tribute to Steven Gerrard - the man who took his place up front against Hungary.

He said: "Obviously for me I was hoping I would be playing, but I know what a top class player Steve is and he’s been destroying teams with Liverpool this season. I think it worked well especially with Jamie Carragher doing well in the holding role. But we’ll have to see what happens next. I’m ready to play whenever I’m needed."

After the game, the squad travelled back to their hotel and all sat down to watch the game over dinner.

Most of the match was watched in quiet contemplation, apart that is from Crouch's goal, whose celebration caused another eruption of cheers and laughter from the players in the dining room.

The striker is clearly as much a favourite in the dressing room as he is becoming in the stands.

TheFA.com - the only place to be during the World Cup.