On Tuesday, the 26-year-old striker was named in Fabio Capello's 30-man provisional squad for South Africa. Seven men will ultimately be discarded by the time the Italian finalises his selection ahead of the June 1 deadline, but Bruce is convinced his £10million summer signing can make the cut. The Black Cats boss told the club's official website: "The call-up is Darren's reward for an excellent first season for us. "What Darren has done for Sunderland this season is nothing short of fantastic - you can't argue with a return of 25 goals. "He has all the attributes needed to make a big impact on the international stage. "Darren's finishing ability is exceptional, and that's a key asset when you are playing on a big stage like the World Cup. "Hopefully he can impress Mr Capello and earn a place in the full squad. We are all rooting for him." Bent arrived at the Stadium of Light in August after two disappointing seasons at Tottenham, and wasted little time in making his mark. He scored on his Barclays Premier League debut for the club in a 1-0 opening day victory at Bolton and has contributed 24 more goals since, all but one of them in the league. Only Golden Boot winner Didier Drogba and potential international team-mate Wayne Rooney bettered that tally. Bruce has repeatedly backed the player's claims for a seat on the plane to South Africa, but the man himself has been philosophical throughout. He said recently: "Every time I score a goal, I get asked the England question, but the only thing I can do is just keep doing what I am doing, keep performing well and keep playing well. "Obviously if I go, I will be delighted and if I don't get picked, I have done myself no harm by scoring the goals I have. "Of course every player wants to go to a World Cup, but at the same time, it is not up to me, really. "All I have got to do is keep knocking them in and just go from there."
