England No. 1 shirt still up for grabs

Hart was restored to West Ham's starting line-up last weekend in a 3-0 defeat to Burnley after he 30-year-old had not appeared in a Premier League game since November of last year. Yet he suffered in goal against Burnley. 

Despite the uninspiring performance, Schwarzer believes that Hart's experience on the international scene will stand him in good stead for Gareth Southgate's selection ahead of the World Cup. 

In an interview with 'SkySports', the former Australian goalkeeper said: ''If Joe Hart plays between now and the end of the season and plays well then there's no decision to be made. Based on his previous performances and the potential good performances between now and the end of the season, he would warrant selection as England's first choice goalkeeper.'' 

Southgate has called up four goalkeepers for next week's matches against Holland and Italy: Hart, Jordan Pickford [Everton], Jack Butland [Stoke City] and Nick Pope [Burnley].

Schwarzer thinks that Pickford and Butland have a realistic chance of wearing the England No. 1 shirt at the World Cup, arguing: ''At the moment those two guys have to be in the running because Joe's only played one game since November. I think it's going to be more of a case of him giving Butland and Pickford the chance to stake a claim in those games because they are playing week in, week out.''

''He [Southgate] could play one of them in each of the games against Holland and Italy. Joe will be there but Gareth knows what Joe can produce. As to whether he starts at the World Cup or not it will come down to how many games he gets between now and the end of the season."