Jermain Defoe is confident he can be part of England’s World Cup squad in Brazil this summer.
The 31-year-old striker made an instant impact on his debut for Toronto at the weekend with two goals against Seattle Sounders.
And despite leaving the Premier League behind for the MLS following his move from Tottenham Hotspur earlier this month, Defoe believes his stateside goalscoring will keep him in the thoughts of Three Lions boss Roy Hodgson.
Defoe left Spurs earlier in March
"I just need to play and score goals," said Defoe. "To get in a World Cup squad you have to be playing.
"Throughout my career, people know I’ve scored a lot of goals. I think the most important thing for me is to play and score goals. I think that’s all I can do."
Defoe has already experienced one World Cup in his career, when he was part of the England squad which travelled to South Africa in 2010.
He fulfilled a childhood dream by scoring in the World Cup there, when he hit the winner against Slovenia in the group stages.
And that experience will come in handy within Hodgson’s squad, should Defoe make the cut for the trip to South America.
"It’s important to get off to a good start,” added Defoe, who has scored 19 goals in 55 appearances for the Three Lions.
Defoe has been a real character in the England squad
"There’s a hard first game against Italy, but I think if we get off to a good start then you just never know.
"We need to stick together and take each game as it comes. It’s hard to make predictions because it’s the World Cup.
"It’s the pinnacle of football and that’s why you play the game - to go there and see how it goes."
With a blend of experienced players and younger charges challenging for places in Hodgson’s 23-man group, Defoe is also excited about England’s prospects in the competition.
"I think England have a great chance because I think there’s a great mix between the experienced players and the young players," he told FIFA.com.
"It’s so exciting. It’s going to be hard for the manager to pick 23 players because there are so many good players these days."
England are next in action on Friday 30 May when they host Peru at Wembley Stadium in their final home game before the World Cup.
