Cole has one eye on World Cup

  • by Staff Writer
  • Monday, 29th July 2013

Joe Cole has refused to rule out a return to the international stage, with the World Cup in Rio less than a year away.

The 31-year-old midfielder returned to West Ham last summer after ten years away and immediately settled back into the swing of things in east London.

And whilst the end of the 2012/13 season was affected by injury, Cole believes that with a bit of luck - conbined with some good on-pitch performances - his chances of making the plane to Rio might not be as futile as may have been the case six months ago.

"The main thing for me is to get in the West Ham team, play as many games as I can and play well," he said. "Then we'll see what happens from there.

"I think any English player would be looking at that, because to go to a World Cup and perform for your country is the pinnacle of your career. But first and foremost, for me, is playing well for West Ham."

Another Hammer who will be challenging for a place on the plane to South America next summer is striker Andy Carroll, who earlier in pre-season signed a long-term, permanent deal with West Ham.

And Cole, who also played with the 24-year-old forward at Liverpool, believes that Carroll has the potential to be one of the very best. "The player who's playing for West Ham is full of confidence, strong and aggressive. You can see what a great player he is," lauded Cole.

"He had a difficult time at Liverpool but the West Ham Andy Carroll is a top player and a real handful. He'll be looking to get in the England squad as he's scored goals for England. He's a good lad and we're glad to have him in our team.

"He can be anything he wants to be. Look at Didier Drogba - that's the level he can get to."

However Cole admits that thoughts of Brazil will be placed firmly in the back of his mind once the 2013/14 Premier League campaign kicks off in earnest when West Ham host newly-promoted Cardiff City at the Boleyn Ground on Saturday, 17th August.

"You get excited every year, you want to play and you want to do well," said Cole. "We start with Cardiff at home and everyone's saying what a good game that is for West Ham but on the other hand, Cardiff are coming up for the first time in years so it's going to be a tough fixture.

"We want to get a result in that game and we know it's going to be tough."

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