England vs Moldova: Why Jermain Defoe Will Lead England Attack

The start of the 2014 World Cup qualification process begins for England on Friday at Zimbru Stadium in Moldova.

England's last major tournament ended when they were ousted from the Euro 2012 by Italy in a penalty shootout and now they will be looking to qualify against Moldova without two of their star players.

Left back Ashley Cole will miss the qualifier, according to this Sky Sports tweet.

"

Ashley Cole will miss England's opening 2014 World Cup qualifier against Moldova on Friday due to an ankle injury. bit.ly/N8rpvm

"

"—Sky Sports (@SkySports) September 3, 2012"

"
"

As if that's not bad enough, the Three Lions will also be without star forward Wayne Rooney and striker Andy Carroll, according to the UK's The Sun.

In the absence of these three key players, Jermain Defoe has come forward and notified coach Roy Hodgson that he's capable of leading the attack against Moldova, according to Yahoo! Sports.

Defoe has shown that he's more than capable of taking the reigns of the striking attack, highlighted by a pretty goal against Italy.

While Daniel Sturridge and Danny Welbeck are also notable fill-ins for the English squad, they haven't played as much as Defoe of late, making Defoe the better option to lead the attack against Moldova on Friday.

Follow me on Twitter: Follow @Pete_Schauer