CROUCH...sees Brazil as a benchmark.PETER CROUCH cannot wait to find out how England compare to five-time World Cup winners Brazil.
The Three Lions striker is itching to line up against the samba stars in Saturday's friendly in Qatar. It is the last-but-one game for England coach Fabio Capello before he has to pick his provisional squad for next summer's World Cup in South Africa.
And Spurs hitman Crouch, who has scored 16 goals in 17 international starts, hopes to press his case to partner Wayne Rooney up front. Brazil are the latest top side to face Capello's England after France, Germany, Spain and Holland.
Crouch said: "If we are going to have any aspirations of winning the World Cup, we need to play the best.
"We have to find out about their strengths and weaknesses and see how close we are to them. "It is all about preparing for the World Cup. If we lose, we have time to adapt and see where we went wrong. "But the basic point is to test ourselves against the top nations and Brazil are one of those."
Crouch came on as a substitute in 2007 when Brazil swaggered into London to open the new Wembley and England battled their way to a creditable draw.
He added: "We all grew up watching the great Brazil teams and all those great flair players. It is a great fixture. They are a fantastic team, full of world-class players."
Coach Dunga has got rid of some of that flair and assembled a hard-working, gritty team — but superstars like Kaka can still produce moments of magic.
And Crouch reckons England need to match the Brazilian workrate if they are to succeed.
He said: "Our manager will want us to be tough and difficult to beat.
"He wants us to win every single game. We have had that mindset in every friendly we have played and it will continue."
And Spurs hitman Crouch, who has scored 16 goals in 17 international starts, hopes to press his case to partner Wayne Rooney up front. Brazil are the latest top side to face Capello's England after France, Germany, Spain and Holland.
Crouch said: "If we are going to have any aspirations of winning the World Cup, we need to play the best.
"We have to find out about their strengths and weaknesses and see how close we are to them. "It is all about preparing for the World Cup. If we lose, we have time to adapt and see where we went wrong. "But the basic point is to test ourselves against the top nations and Brazil are one of those."
Crouch came on as a substitute in 2007 when Brazil swaggered into London to open the new Wembley and England battled their way to a creditable draw.
He added: "We all grew up watching the great Brazil teams and all those great flair players. It is a great fixture. They are a fantastic team, full of world-class players."
Coach Dunga has got rid of some of that flair and assembled a hard-working, gritty team — but superstars like Kaka can still produce moments of magic.
And Crouch reckons England need to match the Brazilian workrate if they are to succeed.
He said: "Our manager will want us to be tough and difficult to beat.
"He wants us to win every single game. We have had that mindset in every friendly we have played and it will continue."
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