The Pompey keeper was among the frustrated nation who had to watch the European Championships take place without England.

Defeat to Croatia, a match the 38-year-old was surprisingly dropped for in favour of Scott Carson, sealed their demise.

England now stand on the brink of their World Cup qualification campaign with an opening clash with Andorra tomorrow.

James remains Fabio Capello's undisputed number one and will take his place in goal for the Olympic Stadium fixture.

Four days later they will take on the more demanding task of defeating Croatia in Zagreb.

And James is eager to make up for the disappointments of the summer.
He said: 'Having watched the European Championships, rather than playing in them, will certainly have an impact.

'Croatia and Russia, who were in our qualifying group, got to the latter stages.

'You think "had we got there it might have been us in the final" so there's a lot of frustration.

'Hopefully, that will translate into an eagerness for individuals and the team as a whole to make sure we do the job this time around.

'With Spain winning the tournament in the summer, and the length of time they had gone without winning something, I think we should really be focusing on trying to replicate that.

'The 1966 World Cup win was a long time ago and the whole squad wasn't born the last time England won it.

'We have the best league in the world so I think we really need the focus to have a proper go at winning this World Cup.'

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