Foster 'more than deserves' England recall, insists Routledge

Mar 8, 2013 5:13:00 PM

The West Brom goalkeeper recently came out of international retirement and, ahead of the clash with Swansea, the winger believes he should be picked for the March qualifiers

West Brom goalkeeper Ben Foster deserves a recall to the England squuad, according to Swansea winger Wayne Routlege.

The 29-year-old announced his retirement from international football in May 2011 in an attempt to prolong his career after a vigorous schedule and travel commitments.

However, Foster made himself available for selection again last month, and Routledge believes his excellent performances this season sees him as a challenger for current No.1 Joe Hart for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers.

"He is a very good keeper. Some of the saves he made against Chelsea the other day were just world class," Routledge told reporters ahead of Swansea’s trip to face the Baggies on Saturday.

"He is more than capable of performances like that and he is up there with the best. He is a top quality goalkeeper.

"If he wants to go back to play for England he more than deserves a place in that squad."

Swansea triumphed 3-1 at the Liberty Stadium in the reverse fixture in November, but Routledge is expecting a much tougher challenge at the Hawthorns this weekend - with the two sides level on 40 points with 10 games left to play.

He continued: "We know it is going to be very tough this weekend. They have played some good football at home, we got a few early goals when we beat them here but this will be very different.

"We are in a battle against each other in the league, so it would be nice to come away with something."

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