Owen gunning for record list against Azerbaijan

Michael Owen has his eye on moving up England's goalscoring charts when the Group Six leaders face Azerbaijan in tomorrow's World Cup qualifier.

Owen's close-range strike in Saturday's 4-0 victory over Northern Ireland at Old Trafford took his tally to 29 in a seven-year England career to date.

One more goal at St James' Park against the Azeris would equal the feats of Newcastle favourite Alan Shearer, Tom Finney and Nat Lofthouse and a double strike would leave the 25-year-old fourth in the all-time standings.

"There are quite a fantastic batch of players on 30 goals," said Owen, who is also chasing Jimmy Greaves (44), Gary Lineker (48) and ultimately Bobby Charlton's record of 49.

With probably another six or seven years of top-level football to play, the Real Madrid forward knows that time is on his side.

"The record is still miles away, it's still over 20 goals to beat it, so it's going to be a long way off," Owen said. "But I've got time to do it.

"If I keep fit and keep my form, they are the only two obstacles. If those two things are okay, then it could be quite close."

Though Saturday's goal was only part of a second-half blitz that finished off a stubborn Northern Ireland side, Owen remains a key part of England's campaign to reach the World Cup finals in Germany.

His match-winner in a 1-0 victory in Azerbaijan last October, as captain for the day, ensured England stayed top of their group and on course for the finals.

Owen is trying to maintain his sharpness for England despite spending plenty of time warming the subs bench at Real, where he is still clearly behind Raul and Ronaldo in the pecking order.

"It is sort of difficult," he said. "I've gone through patches this season but I've played over 40 games this year for England and Madrid and over half of those have been starts.

"As much as I haven't played as much as I would have liked, I've not been sitting there dormant."