Pompey striker Jermain still not worth an upgrade for England

The Portsmouth striker is still waiting for an upgrade, 27 games into his England career and he appears no closer to joining some of the more celebrated names in a reclining chair.

On the rise: Jermain Defoe

David Beckham will be there with his feet up. So, too, will Steven Gerrard and Rio Ferdinand. In fact, that trio are in a class of their own.

Will Defoe's international career ever take off? He must be running out of time now. Defoe has come up short and it has nothing to do with his 5ft 7in frame. Prolific in the Barclays Premier League and struggling to make an impact on a stage that should be perfect.

The fox in the box scored 41 goals in 105 games for West Ham, 64 in 177 for Tottenham and eight in 12 for Portsmouth. So far so good.

Harry Redknapp loves him, putting an arm around his shoulder when he was manager of West Ham and letting him loose on the south coast when he signed him from Spurs.

Shame, then, that Redknapp is not his manager when he joins up with the national team. At least he knows where he stands with him. Score and Redknapp will stand by you.

It was not that way under Sven Goran Eriksson, when he was left out of the 23-man squad for the 2006 squad and replaced by Theo Walcott. "No one I speak to can understand the decision," he moaned at the time and he was right.

Steve McClaren gave him another shot, pairing him with Peter Crouch in his first game in charge and celebrating a 4-0 victory over Greece in August 2006. The Wally with the Brolly kept the template for Andorra the following month and Defoe scored twice.

Twice! Against Andorra! That made it three for his country - his first was against Poland in September 2004 - and England have been waiting for another ever since.

There should be so much more. Let him loose in the box and he is likely to lash the ball first time beyond the keeper. .

Game over: Fabio Capello substitutes Defoe

He has the pace to burn but he was frustrated. He needed Wayne Rooney, deployed in the Role in the Hole, to set him free.

Oguchi Onyewu, once on loan at Newcastle, and Carlos Bocanegra, released on a free transfer by Fulham this week, are decent defenders but they had it easy last night. Rooney was isolated in Capello's first game, breathing out of his backside as he ran Switzerland's defenders into the ground.

Ditto the following month in the Stade de France and ditto here, where he could have been sent off for wrapping his legs round Ricardo Clark. To think, we believed that had been drummed out of his game.

What happened to the playground footballer who has a smile on his face when he plays in the same Manchester United team as Carlos Tevez, Cristiano Ronaldo and Ryan Giggs? That is when Rooney is at his impish best, flooding forward and spraying 70 yard crossfield passes. Remember that remarkable ball he played out to Ronaldo in the 81st minute of United's 2-0 victory over Aston Villa in the FA Cup?

Ronaldo scored, predictably, and Capello nodded his head in approval. He thought he had found the man to build a team to win the World Cup around. Perhaps Rooney was pre-occupied with his stag party in Ibiza this week.

What an end of season that promises to be before his big day with Coleen McLoughlin on June 14. No one doubts his talent. His clip around the corner to Steven Gerrard in the 34th minute last night underlined his star quality and Gerrard's ball across the six-yard box should have been rounded off by Defoe.

Instead, the England striker steered his effort wide of Tim Howard's post. England were ahead through John Terry's powerful downward header by the time Defoe flickered into life.

Onyewu should have been booked when he clattered into the striker on the edge of the area before the break, but Defoe was soon in again when Ashley Cole found on him on the edge of the box. One touch, two touch … and his effort took off towards the stands.

In the second half Gerrard played him in again but the striker's shot was hurried and straight at substitute goalkeeper Brad Guzan. He was replaced by Crouch after 68 minutes, left to rue those missed chances. The England team will land in Trinidad this evening but Defoe is in danger of being left behind.