Peter Crouch is confident his successful partnership with Jermain Defoe at Portsmouth can thrive with England if the pair are chosen for the World Cup qualifiers against Kazakhstan and Belarus.
The duo have struck up a good understanding on the English south coast since Crouch made the summer move from Liverpool to Fratton Park. Now Crouch has been rewarded by being recalled to the international fold by Fabio Capello after not being chosen for the previous two squads.
The Pompey pair face stiff competition from Emile Heskey and Wayne Rooney for a place in the starting line-up but Crouch has faith that he and Defoe would hit it off if needed by Capello.
Crouch said: "I think it helps that we play together at club level. If we spend any time on the pitch with England, we will slip straight into how we play at Portsmouth.
"I certainly think it helps. We haven't talked about playing for England together but it is an option and it will be of benefit that we play alongside each other week in and week out.
"We clicked together straight away. We play to each other's strengths. We set each other up and play very well as a combination. In fairness, I've played with Jermain right from the England Under-21s. The fact we played together will help internationally as well but we have certain other strikers in the squad who want to play as well." Meanwhile, the Spain coach Vicente del Bosque has handed Liverpool winger Albert Riera a recall for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Estonia and Belgium.
Riera's last appearance for Spain came during the March 26 friendly win over Italy in Elche but he has been rewarded for his promising start to life at Anfield by Del Bosque's decision to select him in place of the injured Diego Capel.
* PA Sport
MATCH INFO
What: 2006 World Cup quarter-final
When: July 1
Where: Gelsenkirchen Stadium, Gelsenkirchen, Germany
Result:
England 0 Portugal 0
(Portugal win 3-1 on penalties)
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Safety 'top priority' for rival hyperloop company
The chief operating officer of Hyperloop Transportation Technologies, Andres de Leon, said his company's hyperloop technology is “ready” and safe.
He said the company prioritised safety throughout its development and, last year, Munich Re, one of the world's largest reinsurance companies, announced it was ready to insure their technology.
“Our levitation, propulsion, and vacuum technology have all been developed [...] over several decades and have been deployed and tested at full scale,” he said in a statement to The National.
“Only once the system has been certified and approved will it move people,” he said.
HyperloopTT has begun designing and engineering processes for its Abu Dhabi projects and hopes to break ground soon.
With no delivery date yet announced, Mr de Leon said timelines had to be considered carefully, as government approval, permits, and regulations could create necessary delays.
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A homegrown card payment scheme launched by the National Payments Corporation of India and backed by the Reserve Bank of India, the country’s central bank
RuPay process payments between banks and merchants for purchases made with credit or debit cards
It has grown rapidly in India and competes with global payment network firms like MasterCard and Visa.
In India, it can be used at ATMs, for online payments and variations of the card can be used to pay for bus, metro charges, road toll payments
The name blends two words rupee and payment
Some advantages of the network include lower processing fees and transaction costs
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Name: Steppi
Founders: Joe Franklin and Milos Savic
Launched: February 2020
Size: 10,000 users by the end of July and a goal of 200,000 users by the end of the year
Employees: Five
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Financing stage: Two seed rounds – the first sourced from angel investors and the founders' personal savings
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Our legal columnist
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Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
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Who has lived at The Bishops Avenue?
- George Sainsbury of the supermarket dynasty, sugar magnate William Park Lyle and actress Dame Gracie Fields were residents in the 1930s when the street was only known as ‘Millionaires’ Row’.
- Then came the international super rich, including the last king of Greece, Constantine II, the Sultan of Brunei and Indian steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal who was at one point ranked the third richest person in the world.
- Turkish tycoon Halis Torprak sold his mansion for £50m in 2008 after spending just two days there. The House of Saud sold 10 properties on the road in 2013 for almost £80m.
- Other residents have included Iraqi businessman Nemir Kirdar, singer Ariana Grande, holiday camp impresario Sir Billy Butlin, businessman Asil Nadir, Paul McCartney’s former wife Heather Mills.
Hunting park to luxury living
- Land was originally the Bishop of London's hunting park, hence the name
- The road was laid out in the mid 19th Century, meandering through woodland and farmland
- Its earliest houses at the turn of the 20th Century were substantial detached properties with extensive grounds
