Jermain Defoe showed in five minutes of football on Saturday exactly why Redknapp feels he is one of the finest finishers in the modern game.

His late strike against Kazakhstan was a perfect example of the predatory instincts he possesses.

It is that cold-blooded trait which the Pompey boss feels will reap dividends for his country in what is certain to be a tricky and testing encounter in Belarus.

Just a few weeks ago, it looked as if Fabio Capello had a dearth of genuine attacking options at his disposal.

But Emile Heskey's re-emergence and Theo Walcott's hat-trick in Croatia have added weight to England's goal threat.

Defoe had looked a shoe-in to partner Wayne Rooney up front through the World Cup qualifying campaign.

Now things are nowhere near as clear-cut.

The 26-year-old has had to be content with just a few minutes off the bench in the last two games.

Like in the first half of Saturday's game, though, chances may not be flooding England's way this evening.

Redknapp knows the man with the cool trigger finger is the marksman to turn to in such circumstances.

He said: 'Jermain is a terrific player, one of the best finishers in the modern game.

'He is a good little goalscorer. He doesn't get fazed when he misses a chance, but then that is what good strikers do.

'He has always had that knack of scoring.

'That is what you need from your striker as a manager.

'It's something he has always had. He has done it since I was watching him play South East Counties games when he was 15.

'He used to score every week.

'Jermain's a goalscoring machine.'

It was the international platform four of Pompey's squad now find themselves on that paved the way for Defoe's move to Fratton Park in January.

While Defoe's fortunes were flagging as he was left on the fringes at Spurs, he was watching his pals rejuvenate their careers on the south coast.

David James, Sol Campbell and Glen Johnson were plucked from the wilderness and brought back into the England fray while with Pompey.

They were all enjoying the regular first-team football the striker was craving, but not being handed at White Hart Lane.

Redknapp had long identified Defoe as the key component to his side.

That led to a determined and persistent chase of the player for his services.

One aborted pursuit left the Blues manager frustrated, but when the first-team outings still failed to come his way in north London, he decided to search it out at Pompey under his former manager – and Defoe hasn't looked back.

Redknapp said: 'Jermain was the key for me really.

'We tried last year to get him in.

'We chased him for quite a while but they wouldn't let him go.

'Eventually, though, we managed to get him.

'When we spoke to him he was keen to come.

'He's close to Jamo, Sol, Glen Johnson and a few of the other lads which helped.

'So in the end he was up for the move.'