The Black Cats marksman is among those hoping to be handed a place on the plane to South Africa this summer. A brace in the Black Cats' 3-1 victory over Birmingham on Saturday saw him break through the 20-goal barrier in the Premier League for the first time in his career. He is now second in the scoring charts behind Wayne Rooney, but is by no means guaranteed to be handed an international call-up alongside the Manchester United hot shot. Bent, though, will continue to cling to that dream for the remainder of the season and is determined to do all he can to force his way into Fabio Capello's plans. "I want it more than anything, to play in the World Cup," he told Sky Sports News. "I scored a similar amount of goals four years ago and didn't go and it's funny that it could happen to me again this season. "But Steve Bruce has been rooting for it 100 per cent and if I can keep going, do my talking on the pitch rather than off it, I might be there. "I have scored a lot of goals this season but to go to a World Cup at the end of it would really top it off." Bruce has once again thrown his weight behind Bent's cause, with the Sunderland boss of the opinion that his top marksman is more then deserving of an opportunity to grace football's grandest stage. "What I have said to Benty is there is always a twist," he said. "We hope, God forbid, that none of them get injured but for me, off the bench even as someone who can come on and score a goal, he has to be in their thoughts. "We haven't got many real natural goalscorers. Rooney is having the season of his life and we all know he is England's best centre-forward but if something happened to him, then where do we go? Who are we looking at then to score a goal? "In my opinion, in Darren there is nobody better."
