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Jermain Defoe rolls back the years to show England what they have missed | Dominic Fifield

Sunderland striker showed he has lost none of his sharpness or eye for goal to vindicate Gareth Southgate’s decision to recall him after three years awayThere was something very familiar about all this. The sight of a winger bustling to the byline and, even as he pulled the ball back across goal, being absolutely convinced the net would be billowing by the time his momentum had carried him on to the artificial turf ringing the pitch. Jermain Defoe tends to offer that calibre of reassurance, forever loitering as he does in enemy territory spanning the width of the posts, the six-yard box only ever a dart away, defenders constantly on edge. Cue that trademark celebration, arms stretched wide, as the...

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Where will the goals come from in Gareth Southgate’s England? | Jacob Steinberg

Harry Kane’s ankle injury has exposed an England weakness, with only three forwards in the squad for the games against Germany and LithuaniaWhen England beat Germany in Berlin last March, talk of the emergence of a generation of strikers who could carry them to glory at Euro 2016 did not feel entirely outlandish. Danny Welbeck caused problems with his pace and movement, Harry Kane pulled off a Cruyff turn before his goal and Jamie Vardy scored with a brilliant flick four minutes after coming off the bench. Roy Hodgson had an embarrassment of riches up front. Wayne Rooney was still to return from injury, Daniel Sturridge was fit at last and Marcus Rashford was shooting to prominence at Manchester United.Reality...

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