Fabio Capello is set to leave out Jermaine Defoe for yet another match when England play Croatia on Wednesday. There has been huge pressure on the England coach to play Defoe who has been in brilliant international form over the last few weeks.

Defoe has seemed like one of the only hungry players in an England shirt but Capello looks as though he may stick with Emile Heskey for the match that could seal England’s place at the World Cup next summer in South Africa.

Capello’s theory is a good one, Heskey is likely to pose a different problem to the Croatian defence. He is big, strong and tough, which will help as the Croatians are likely to come to Wembley with an aggressive mental attitude and style of play. Defoe will probably have to settle for a place on the bench again and simply wait for his chance to impress.

Capello said: “If he plays the second half, he has scored goals. That’s good. Perhaps he would be tired if he played from the first minute. He’s a really important player. But Heskey, for me, played a good first half. The players do a lot of movement around Heskey.”

Defoe himself aded: “At the moment, everything I hit seems to be going in. I’ll just keep working hard and see what happens. You don’t want to sit on the bench. You want to play every game for your club and for your country. If I don’t start but can come on and make an impact like I did against Slovenia, I will do that.”

Pundits and media personalities have been saying that Capello’s favouring of Heskey is too negative and could back fire on the side. However, really he just wants to secure qualification. The time to take risks and gamble will come next year in South Africa but for now Capello should and will play it safe to make sure England mathematically qualify. Then and only then should he think about toying around with the starting line up and formation.

The contrasts of Defoe and Heskey at their respective clubs could not be more different. Defoe seems to be an out and out starter at Spurs and scoring in the Premier League almost every week. Heskey on the other hand, is struggling to start for Aston Villa and cannot seem to find the back of the net.

It must be remembered that Capello is a very honest and good natured manager who will want Heskey to get a goal and more confidence. Defoe is ready and waiting and will be an adequate replacement.