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TORONTO - While England seems destined for "massive change" in the wake of its failed World Cup campaign, Jermain Defoe says he can still contribute goals to the national cause. "Ill never turn my back on my country," the Toronto FC striker told reporters after training Wednesday. "Like I mentioned before I still feel like Ive got a lot to offer. If I didnt feel that way, Id say theres no point because youre not doing anyone any favours if youre sort of like being selfish (and) you havent got much to offer. "But I still feel strong, I feel sharp. So hopefully at some point Ill get called up (again). How I feel at the minute, Im still ready to play and score goals for my country." The 31-year-old Defoe, who has 19 goals in 55 appearances for his country, was named to Englands 30-man World Cup roster but did not make the final 23. At the time, he said he was devastated by the snub. England (0-2-1) finished last in Group D behind Costa Rica, Uruguay and Italy, managing to score just two goals. "Spain are out, Italy are out," Defoe said. "Some big nations are out but obviously it would have been nice to see (England) progress to the later stage of the tournament. But it wasnt meant to be. A lot of young players, they still have opportunities again to play in tournaments and Im sure theyll do well. But this year it wasnt meant to be. It was a tough group." England captain Steven Gerrard and vice-captain Frank Lampard have said they will take some time to ponder their international future. Veteran fullback Ashley Cole opted to retire prior to the tournament. Veteran midfielder Michael Carrick was also left out of the England squad. "I think its a change," Defoe said, "because obviously theres so many young players coming through — good young players. Obviously theyre inexperienced but theyll get experience with games and I suppose thats what the manager wanted to do when he left me out, Michael Carrick, Ashley Cole, he wanted to go with the younger players. "Hopefully theyll do well but its going to be a massive change ... but well see what happens." Meanwhile, Defoe said he did not take offence at former manager Harry Redknapp saying some of his England players at Spurs had tried to shirk national team duty. Current England manager Roy Hodgson and Gerrard both said Defoe should not be tarred with that brush. "Its difficult for me (to react) because Im not one those players," said Defoe. "Ive never missed a squad and obviously I dont know who those players are. At the end of the day, when youre playing for your country, its the greatest honour ... I always turned out for my country, even if I was half fit." Gerrard urged Redknapp to name names but the veteran manager, who now runs Queens Park Rangers, said it would not be fair to the players in question. Defoe was one of a dozen England players at Tottenham during Redknapps tenure. Toronto manager Ryan Nelsen, a former New Zealand international who played under Redknapp, said he thought the comments might have been taken somewhat out of context. Nelsen, who captained the All Whites, said he would be outraged if anyone suggested he didnt love playing for his country. But he said theres give and take when it comes to club versus country, acknowledging he had asked not to be picked for some friendlies when they were largely commercial ventures on the other side of the globe and they bumped heads with major club clashes. While he had hoped to be playing in Brazil, Defoe welcomed the MLS break during the group stage of the World Cup. Toronto gave its players eight days off following the 1-0 win over San Jose on June 7. Still he admitted to having "itchy feet," wanting to get back to playing. Toronto (6-4-1) returns to action Friday in New York against the Red Bulls (4-5-6). Nelsens only injury concerns are winger Daniel Lovitz (concussion) and Brazilian striker Gilberto (hip flexor). Penguins Jerseys 2019 . Thats 14 consecutive losses to the two-time defending champs, and most of them were over before they even began. Result notwithstanding, Sundays game had a very different feel to it. Cheap Penguins Jerseys . The win puts the final playoff berth in Group A in question. If the Czechs beat Slovakia on Tuesday, they will go through. If they lose, Germany will get the last quarter-final berth. https://www.cheappenguinsjersey.com/ . New York then missed its next six shots and scored only two points the rest of the night. The Los Angeles Clippers defence and the Knicks general ineptitude both played a role in the unsurprising finish to a meeting of two teams headed in opposite directions. Wholesale Penguins Jerseys . - Kevin Labanc and Joseph Blandisi were a potent combination for the Barrie Colts on Friday night. Fake Penguins Jerseys . - PGA Tour rookie Tony Finau shot a 9-under 63 at Del Monte and had a two-stroke lead over Billy Andrade and Lee Janzen of the Champions Tour after Thursdays opening round of the Callaway Pebble Beach Invitational.New York, NY (SportsNetwork.com) - On the verge of yet another milestone, Mike Krzyzewski will lead the fifth-ranked Duke Blue Devils onto the court at Madison Square Garden on Sunday afternoon for a non-conference clash with the St. Johns Red Storm. Coach K currently sits at 999 career wins and will become the first coach in Division I history to reach the 1,000-win mark with his next victory. The Blue Devils helped Krzyzewski move one step closer to the historic mark with a 79-65 win over Pittsburgh last time out. The victory was the second straight for Duke, which now sits at 16-2 overall and 4-2 in the ACC. Steve Lavins Red Storm were among those ranked in the Top-25 just a short time ago. However, St. Johns has struggled since Big East play has begun, with a mere 2-4 league mark. The team was able to get one of those conference wins last time out, a 60-57 decision over Marquette on Wednesday, moving to 13-5 overall. This marks the 22nd all-time meeting in a series that dates back to 1938. Duke holds a 15-6 edge overall and won the last meeting, an 83-76 decision in 2012. Duke put on an offensive show in the win over Pittsburgh earlier in the week, as the Blue Devils knocked down 11 3-pointers and went 20-of-25 from the free- throw line in the victory. Four player finished in double figures in the win for Duke, led by freshman point guard Tyus Jones, who matched a career-high with 22 points. Fellow freshman star Jahlil Okafor tacked on 14 points, followed by Rasheed Sulaimon and Quinn Cook, who chipped in with 13 and 11 points, respectively. Cook recorded a double-double in the win, grabbing a career-high 10 rebounds. When Duke gets into a rhythm offensively, there arent many teams that can match their explosiveness. The Blue Devils are among the nations best in botth scoring (81.dddddddddddd8 ppg) and field-goal percentage (.500), while also excelling in both rebounding (+7.0) and turnover (+2.0) margins. Okafor has definitely lived up to the hype and his days in Durham could be numbered, as he is regarded as perhaps the top NBA draft prospect this season. The 6-foot-11, 270-pound youngster leads the ACC in scoring (18.6 ppg) and field-goal percentage (.670) and ranks third in rebounding (8.9 rpg). Cook is a veteran presence on an otherwise young team, posting 14.2 ppg. Justise Winslow, another freshman, ranks third on the team with 11.1 ppg. Despite his age, Jones has proved to be a solid scorer (10.1 ppg) and deft distributor (5.1 apg). St. Johns used a 9-0 run in the second half to eradicate a seven-point deficit to Marquette and held on for a three-point victory over the Golden Eagles. SirDominic Painter recorded a double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds to lead the way. Rysheed Jordan also netted 15 points, while Phil Greene IV and DAngelo Harrison chipped in with 11 points apiece for St. Johns, which won despite shooting just .367 from the floor overall. The Red Storm arent known for huge scoring totals this season, but the team does possess solid scoring depth. Harrison is one of the Big Easts most explosive players, averaging a hefty 19.5 ppg. Jordan is next in line at 13.7 ppg, followed by Greene (12.5 ppg) and Pointer (11.3 ppg). The 6-6 Pointer (7.2 rpg) and 6-9 Chris Obekpa (7.2 ppg, 7.8 rpg) are a solid one-two punch at the defensive end, with Obekpa ranking third nationally in blocked shots (3.6 per game). St. Johns certainly has the talent to pull off an upset, especially at Madison Square Garden, but getting Coach K to 1,000 wins is probably motivation enough for the Blue Devils in this one. ' ' '