Jamie Vardy backed for England place by Les Ferdinand
Thursday 1 October 2015 07:13, UK
England manager Roy Hodgson will name his squad for the final two European Qualifiers against Estonia and Lithuania on Thursday.
Former England striker Les Ferdinand is tipping Leicester's Jamie Vardy to get a place in the squad for next summer's finals in France. He's the leading scorer in the Premier League this season with six goals.
Ferdinand told Sky Sports News HQ: "I think in the back of Roy Hodgson's mind he knows the guys he wants to take and there's probably one or two guys on the periphery who are in with a shout.
"Maybe this is an opportunity for him to look at some of those players see how they settle in and he can make a decision from there.
"You can see from Jamie Vardy and the way that he's playing that he offers something different, he's effervescent. He's on the move all the time and he's scoring goals; any striker is worth his weight in gold if he's scoring."
Hodgson is already without a number of injured players including Danny Welbeck, Jack Wilshere and Jordan Henderson.
Other names that could be handed a chance include Tottenham's Eric Dier, who has had an impressive start to the season, and Swansea City's Jack Cork. However, Daniel Sturridge, who has recently returned to the Liverpool squad after six months out, is not expected to feature.
England face Estonia at Wembley on October 9 before a trip to Lithuania on October 12 - there are also two high-profile friendlies against Spain (A) and France (H) in November.
England have not lost a tournament qualifier for six years - since a 1-0 defeat away to Ukraine in a 2010 World Cup qualifying match. Their last competitive defeat at home was against Croatia in November 2007.
