Former Red Phil Neville is backing Alan Smith to fire England to victory in their must-win Euro 2008 qualifier in Estonia.

The Reds' striker opened the scoring in England B's 3-1 win over Albania at Turf Moor on Friday night.

With Wayne Rooney suspended, Smith is now in the running to start the Three Lions trip to Tallinn next Wednesday alongside Michael Owen, and could also feature in Friday's friendly with Brazil at Wembley.

Neville has been hugely impressed by Smith's recovery from injury and subsequent return to form this season and believes he could play a crucial role in England's European Championships qualifying quest.

"Alan Smith is a warrior who loves opportunities like this one now coming up with England," explains the Everton captain.

"He really grows when facing such challenges as this one. You saw that when he made his full comeback against Roma for United in the Champions League.

"Someone like Alan doesn’t shirk any responsibility and loves a fight and you need players like that in your team.

"It's great to have both Michael and Alan back. It adds competition for places upfront and it is something we've probably not had all season.

"Although we are missing Wayne Rooney and Andrew Johnson, we’ve got two players who have now come into the squad who are just as good and can score goals just as easily."