Sunderland’s Defoe: Playing for England is the pinnacle

Jermain Defoe admits he is delighted at being recalled to the England squad at the age of 34.

The talismanic Sunderland striker won the most recent of his 55 England caps against Chile in November 2013 but his 14 Premier League goals this season have led to a recall under Gareth Southgate.

The 34-year-old spoke about how much the recall means to him, especially given that terminally ill Sunderland fan Bradley Lowery, five, will be an England mascot.

“I’m delighted that I’m back in there,” he said.

Photo by Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images

“I’ve always looked forward to playing for England because it’s special and it’s the pinnacle – you don’t get any higher than that – and I think Bradley’s going to be mascot so I’m delighted I’m involved.”

The Three Lions are to take on Germany in a friendly next Wednesday before a crucial World Cup qualifier against Lithuania four days later.

Defoe made his England debut in 2004 and played in the 2010 World Cup, where he made a real impact.

“My first tournament was the 2010 World Cup in South Africa and as you can imagine it was an amazing feeling,” he said.

“We drew the first two games against USA and Algeria and going into the third game the manager pulled me and said ‘are you ready to play’ – I said ‘of course’, and I got the goal as we won 1-0.

“It was one of the best moments of my career.”