Practical joke made Defoe fear end of World Cup dream

Tottenham striker Jermain Defoe has revealed he feared his World Cup dream was over after a practical joke by England assistant manager Franco Baldini.

Defoe nervously waited to find out if he would be included in England’s final 23-man squad for the World Cup on Tuesday before finally receiving a call from Baldini on behalf of boss Fabio Capello.

But Defoe initially thought Baldini was phoning to tell him he hadn’t made the squad for South Africa as the Italian began his conversation with a rather cruel joke.

The former West Ham United star had already been left out of the England squad for the 2006 World Cup so the last thing he wanted to hear was Baldini mentioning bad news.

“The call came at around midday so it felt like such a long wait,” Defoe told the Mirror.

“I was so nervous. He started with, ‘I’m really sorry, I’m afraid it’s bad news.’

“Then he says, ‘You can’t go on your holidays because you’ve got to go to South Africa.’

“I couldn’t believe it, it was like having Simon Cowell on the phone. I’m so excited now I just want to get out there. I’m absolutely buzzing, I can’t believe it.”