Fitness permitting, the 27-year-old will retain his place for the crucial Euro 2008 in Estonia five days later when it is widely believed a failure to win will cost Steve McClaren his job. Owen does not see the situation in such black and white terms. But, as the fourth-highest goalscorer in England history, the Newcastle forward recognises his responsibilities. And, not only is he happy to accept them, past experience suggests he will thrive on them. "I don't think I can score against Brazil and Estonia, I know I can," he said. "Due to my past experiences, I have a bigger base of self-belief than most. "With most players, it is around 50% self-belief and 50% confidence. With me, the ratio is more like 80-20. "Even if I am not playing too well, I still feel I can contribute. Even if I have not had a kick, I still feel I can score with my first opportunity. I have never lost that feeling throughout my career." Owen's phenomenal scoring return certainly provides some re-assurance for a player whose last goal in England colours came in the remarkable friendly win over Argentina 18 months ago. Since then, the Newcastle striker has had to battle back from a broken foot which threatened his participation at the World Cup and the cruciate ligament injury which wrecked his tournament once he got to Germany. His presence has been badly missed during a European Championship qualifying campaign in which - two meetings with the part-timers of Andorra aside - England have managed just one goal in four games. McClaren is acutely aware the record must improve if England are to stand any chance of reaching next summer's finals in Austria and Switzerland, which is why he had no hesitation in recalling Owen, even though the former Liverpool man is some way short of full fitness. Likely to find himself on his own up front against Brazil and partnered by Alan Smith in Tallinn, Owen is not about to shirk the responsibility. "The hardest thing to do in football is score," he said. "I don't find that responsibility hard to handle. I have grown up with it and I would actually have it no other way. "Knowing people expect me to score makes me feel a couple of inches taller. I love high stakes games, the more pressure the better as far as I am concerned."