Jermain Defoe has expressed his disappointment at not making Roy Hodgson's provisional England squad for this summer's European Championships, but says he is hopeful of being recalled to the national side in the future.
The 33-year-old striker was not named in Hodgson's 26-man squad for Euro 2016, which takes place in France, despite scoring 15 Premier League goals this season - which fired Sunderland to top-flight safety.
Defoe hasn't played for England since earning his 55th cap for the Three Lions in 2013, and although he admitted he was disappointed not to make the cut, the striker insisted he has no plans to retire from international football.
"Obviously I've not been involved with England for quite a while and I've always thought that getting into an England squad before a tournament is based on merit," he told Sky Sports News.
"As a forward if you score goals then you've got a chance of going.
"Towards the end of the season I started thinking about it but before I wasn't. I was so focused on trying to help Sunderland stay in the Premier League.
"It's only when you see things in the papers and people start talking about it - just mentioning my name about maybe getting into the squad - then I started thinking about it.
"So obviously, when you're not in the squad, it's a disappointment."
He added: "I've never retired and I'll never turn my back on England because I still believe I can score goals at that level," he said. "That's what's kept me going, and one of the reasons I came back from the MLS.
"I just feel like I've done everything that I could do. I'm delighted that Sunderland stayed up and on a personal note, I'm delighted with the amount of goals that I've scored.
"That's all I could do, really."
