Bent wins England chance

CHARLTON striker Darren Bent was handed his first senior England call-up after Alan Smith turned down the chance of being selected — to play for Manchester United reserves.

Andrew Johnson was originally named in the 23-man squad for Wednesday's friendly against Denmark by Sven-Goran Eriksson, but pulled out with a hamstring problem after scoring in Crystal Palace's draw at Norwich.

Eriksson, who was already without Peter Crouch, then turned to Smith, only for the striker to insist that his lack of pre-season action would be better served by a full game for United's reserves, rather than sitting on England's bench.