Rickie Lambert to make first England start against Moldova

The 31-year-old made a goalscoring debut in August in a friendly against Scotland and will be handed the nod in place of the injured Wayne Rooney and Daniel Sturridge

Southampton striker Rickie Lambert is in line to make his first starting appearance for England when Roy Hodgson's men play Moldova on Friday.

The 31-year-old made his debut for his country in the recent friendly win against Scotland, scoring the winner with his very first touch.

Injuries to Daniel Sturridge and Wayne Rooney have seen manager Hodgson turn to Lambert again, the Southampton man is determined to make the most of his chance.

"It [scoring against Scotland] was the best moment of my career by a mile," Lambert told the FA website. "Everything was leading up to that moment so to get the winner was unbelievable.

"I was hoping to go on at half time but he [Roy Hodgson] said give it 10 or 15 minutes so I was just keeping warm. When the chance finally came I was ready for it, and I was eager to get on the pitch and try and do something.

"I knew it might have been my only chance and I knew I had to take it. I didn’t quite imagine it to happen the way it did, with my first touch, but my main thing was to try and impress."

England face Moldova and Ukraine as they look to qualify for the World Cup in Brazil next year.

Lambert insists he understands the importance of acquiring six points over the next few days, and cannot wait to get started.

He added: "We all know the importance of the game. As players we put pressure on and motivate ourselves, and we know what is coming and we are ready for it.

"Roy has been setting us up for Moldova to try and win that game, and it has been going well.

"We are at home, in front of our own fans, so obviously we fancy ourselves. We’ve come off a good win against Scotland so we are confident, especially myself, and I can’t wait for Friday to begin."