The 6ft 7in target man was recalled to Fabio Capello's England squad for next week's qualifiers against Kazakhstan and Belarus after a stunning 25th-minute strike which sparked Pompey's hard-earned 2-1 Barclays Premier League win at home to battling Stoke City.

my goal

With 'pocket-sized' Defoe grabbing the winner six minutes into the second half - having already hit a post following Ricardo Fuller's Stoke equaliser - Crouch said: "I feel Jermain and I can get a lot of goals together at Portsmouth.

"Our partnership is coming along fine - and while that is five this season for me, it is six for Jermain. I hope they will keep coming for both us.

"I would have to put my goal right up there with the best I've scored, not only because I got it just right but also because it gave us a vital breakthrough."