England must put pace to good use at World Cup, says Tottenham winger Andros Townsend

Andros Townsend believes England’s speed merchants will give them a head start on their World Cup rivals this summer.

Townsend is one of several pacy players included in Roy Hodgson’s 30-man squad for tomorrow’s Wembley friendly against Denmark, a group of players from which the England boss is expected to choose his final 23 for Brazil.

Townsend recently regained his place in the Tottenham side after recovering from a hamstring injury and is confident his own pace, plus that of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Raheem Sterling, Daniel Sturridge and Danny Welbeck, can make England a dangerous team in South America.

“We’ve got some great youngsters coming through who have pace and not many other teams have that outlet,” said Townsend.

“So many attacking players in the squad are quick, so that is an asset we have and hopefully we can put it to good use in the summer.”

Although he had a quiet game in Spurs’ 1-0 win over Cardiff two days ago, Townsend is certain his best form is just around the corner.

Before the injury, Townsend had started to establish himself in the Spurs starting XI, winning a place in the senior England squad and playing an important role in their matches against Montenegro and Poland, which sealed qualification for Brazil.

The 22-year-old is now determined to pick up from where he left off. “There is definitely more to come. I was playing well at the start of the season but I wasn’t scoring that many goals or getting that many assists, so there are still improvements to make.

“Hopefully I can get some more goals between now and the end of the season and show everyone what I can do.”