Lampard happy with striker options

Frank Lampard believes England coach Fabio Capello has "two great options" at his disposal when deciding whether to select Jermain Defoe or Emile Heskey for Wednesday's World Cup qualifier with Croatia at Wembley.

Defoe has begun the current campaign in stunning form with Tottenham and he took his England goal tally to five in the last three internationals by netting against Slovenia on Saturday. But Heskey's physical presence may prove invaluable against Croatia despite his shortage of goals and he was a key figure in the 4-1 win in Zagreb last September.

Lampard, who played alongside Defoe during his West Ham days, said: "The manager has to make the decision and we've got faith in him because he has shown he makes right decisions."

He added: "Both players have made great cases to play on Wednesday. Jermain has hit the headlines recently because of his goal scoring.

"I've known him since he was 16 and believed he would eventually go to the top because he is a natural goal scorer.

"But Emile is also making a great case because of the way he has constantly played for England for a very long time.

"The manager has great options there, two different styles of player and it's down to him which way he goes."

Lampard is also backing another ex-club team mate in Glen Johnson after he came in for criticism for being partly at fault for the solitary Slovenian goal in their 2-1 defeat at Wembley.

Lampard said: "Jonno is a fantastic right-back. Everyone at some stage who is an England player comes under scrutiny and no one can have perfect games all the time.

"His form at club level has been fantastic for the last 18 months and has got him a well deserved move to Liverpool."