 10 Nov 1996 SHERINGHAM HOPING `SAS' WILL STORM ITALYTeddy Sheringham hopes he has done enough to get Glenn Hoddle's vote as Alan Shearer's long-term strike partner to spearhead England's World Cup bid. A fit-again Shearer is certain to reclaim the captaincy and his place for England's next qualifying game against Italy in February and Sheringham wants to be back alongside him. Sheringham hopes his successful Euro 96 partnership with the Newcastle marksman can be rekindled to further aid a World Cup qualifying campaign that has already got off to a perfect start. The Tottenham player impressed in his first game under Hoddle, scoring the first and setting-up Les Ferdinand for England's second in the 2-0 victory over Georgia in Tbilisi yesterday. But Sheringham is aware the England boss has a formidable arsenal of strikers to select from with just one place up for grabs. ``I want to be in the team for the next game,'' said Sheringham, who missed the group two opener against Moldova through injury and had to settle for a place on the substitute's bench against Poland last month. ``I just want to be playing for England. But it's not for me to say if I should be Alan's partner when he's back. ``There is a lot of competition among the strikers. For the five of us who were in Georgia, there were another 10 at home. ``It was good to get the opening goal,'' added Sheringham of his first for England since the double against Holland in the summer. ``It gave us the start we wanted.'' Sheringham impressed with his all-round play, confirming he is the best foil for Shearer and would have figured in Hoddle's plans beforehand but for the early-season thigh problem. The 30-year-old believes England's unbeaten start to the group has put them in control though a few more goals would have heaped even more pressure on their group rivals. The Italian's failed to impress when they beat Georgia 1-0 at home last month and will find their return trip to Tbilisi a difficult prospect. ``Everybody said it was going to be a very difficult game, but we got our tactics spot-on,'' said Sheringham. ``We approached it in the right way it was a very professional performance. ``It would have been good to have got a couple of more goals. At 2-0, if Georgia had got a goal back it might have made the last 20 minutes very difficult. ``We were able to control the game after scoring the two in the first-half. But if we'd got a couple more goals it would have put a lot more pressure on other teams who have to go there.''
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