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Crouch still hoping for England recall

Peter Crouch has not played for England since November 2010 © Getty Images

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Peter Crouch has not lost hope of playing for England again despite being snubbed for Euro 2012.

The Stoke striker has a phenomenal international goalscoring record, but despite scoring 22 goals in 42 matches for the Three Lions, he has not played since November 2010.

Crouch had harboured some hope of a recall following Roy Hodgson's appointment as England boss, but missed out on a place in the squad as Hodgson opted in favour of Liverpool striker Andy Carroll.

"To play for your country in major tournaments is the pinnacle and I was desperate to play in another Euros so I was gutted to miss out," Crouch told the Daily Telegraph. "My goalscoring record stands up against anybody else and that made it even more frustrating. It's a record I'm very proud of and whenever I've been selected for England I feel like I've done well.

"The manager rang me the day before the squad was announced and said it was a toss-up between me and Andy Carroll and obviously he went with Carroll. He was looking for one target man and out of the two of us he went with Andy. It was one of those things and I've got to focus now on the next World Cup."

Crouch had lost hope of playing for England again under Hodgson's predecessor, Fabio Capello, but now believes he has a role to play for the side in their qualifying campaign for the 2014 World Cup.

"It was documented that Capello never came to the Britannia Stadium so it's difficult to pick players who you haven't seen play. For one reason or another he never came to the ground but this season if I'm playing well enough it [the World Cup] is still a target.

"I feel as fit as I've ever been. Of course you've got to be playing well but I will never turn down playing for my country. If the opportunity arises then obviously I'd grasp it. Yes, I was gutted but you've just got to move on."

Having switched to Stoke on the final day of the transfer window last season, Crouch is settled at the Britannia Stadium and believes there are some positives from missing out on Euro 2012.

"This is the longest break I've had since I've been playing and I feel really refreshed. I'm ready to go and really looking forward to the new season," he said.

"The manager here believes in me and that's really important. I've played right from the start and ended the season as the player of the year so I've been delighted with how it's gone. I'd love to get back involved with England but if I don't I'm not too bothered. I'm playing games and everything is good."

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