defoe debuted for the senior england team in a 1–0 defeat to sweden in march 2004, coming on as an early substitute for the injured darius vassell. england manager sven-göran eriksson singled out defoe's display for praise in an otherwise poor performance by england, saying, "jermain defoe did very well – i liked what i saw. he showed that he can do very well even in international football and that he is technically very good. jermain is quick and he knows where the goal is." he was not however selected for the england squad to take part in uefa euro 2004.