Team of the week

Team of the week

England face USA in this summer's World Cup group stages and Tim Howard will be the man they have to beat if they are to get the better of their cross-Atlantic rivals. Everton goalkeeper Howard was in fine form against Stoke, making some excellent saves to deny the Potters, and his command of his area will be vital when the time to head to South Africa rolls around.

Everton's Phil Jagielka thinks he's scored - but it was ruled out

Harry Redknapp must have learnt something from his experiment of playingBenoit Assou-Ekotto at right-back against Manchester United because Younes Kaboul was back against Bolton and, low and behold, Spurs kept a clean sheet. Kaboul, actually playing out of position himself, has been a sturdy addition to the Tottenham backline and once again showed his credentials with an excellent display that saw him mop up at the back when all seemed lost - clearing off the line from Matt Taylor's goalbound shot - and providing attacking impetus as well when he foundRoman Pavlyuchenko with a wonderful cross only for the striker to head wide.

Of course he would have to go some way to level the threat posed by fit-again Chelsea full-back Ashley Cole, who also had a good game down the left against Liverpool. Cole's stamina and pace came to the fore in the second half and he was able to push the Reds back, limiting them to just one shot on target in the entire game. It may have helped that regular right-back Glen Johnson was ruled out through injury and Cole was always going to get the best ofJavier Mascherano playing out of position.

For the last defensive place, Everton's Phil Jagielka can count himself unlucky not have got himself on the scoresheet when his late header was bizarrely ruled out by referee Howard Webb. However, his best work came in keeping a clean sheet for the Toffees in the light of some good attacking play from Stoke - and Ricardo Fuller in particular.

Are you watching Mr Capello? With England's wingers going through something of a dip in form of late, Adam Johnson has raised his game to the extent that he must be a very tempting proposition to throw onto the plane to South Africa before he has even claimed a full cap. He enticed Stephen Warnock into the type of tackle that will see the left-back watching the World Cup on HD in his local pub to win a penalty for his side against Villa. A cool pass toEmmanuel Adebayor then set up the second. Theo and company are already exchanging worried text messages with each other about their back-up holiday plans.

Another to force his frame into contention for South Africa could be Tottenham's Tom Huddlestone. A giant performance from a giant man gave Spurs the win they needed to keep up their claims for inclusion into next season's Champions League and his powerful shot managed to find the only corner of the net that Bolton goalkeeper Jussi Jaaskelainen couldn't reach. With a trademark drive, Huddlestone could yet impress upon Mr Capello - after all, he has been ''great all season'' according to his manager.

Of course, they would both do well to learn from Frank Lampard. The England midfield regular profited when another national team-mate - Steven Gerrard - erred, and his Man of the Match performance against Liverpool gave Chelsea a real chance of the title this season. Showing his usual classy range of passing, Lampard had a few good chances to add to his goal tally before he charged up the pitch to bundle the ball over the line and make the game safe.

Why is a Michael Brown goal like a London bus? Well, you wait six years for one and suddenly two turn up at once. Of course, if you really had to wait six years for transport into the city centre then Michael's namesake Gordon might have more problems than an angry granny in Rochdale to deal with, but the Portsmouth midfielder now has two in his last three games and is becoming a veritable Steven Gerrard. All in a pointless cause, mind you, as Pompey's place in the Championship was confirmed a while ago, but Brown could earn himself a move elsewhere if he can persuade someone that he can shoot as well as he can mistime a tackle.