Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney (pictured) returned in the FTBL Top 23 of forwards thanks to three goals scored against outsiders Kazakhstan and Andorra in Group 6 of the World Cup 2010 qualifiers.

Rooney earned 60 rating points in the two games to boost his overall rating to 195.91 points and grab the 4th spot in the FTBL Top 23 of the world’s best forwards.

Portsmouth’s England international Peter Crouch (100.13 points) and Tottenham Hotspur’s Jermain Defoe (106.05), who scored once and twice against Andorra, respectively, also took advantage of the second-tier stature of their opponents to boost their rating and return in the elite of British forwards. Crouch earned 28 rating points against Andorra alone.

Defoe is now in 5th place in the rating of British forwards, while Arsenal’s Theo Walcott, despite not scoring, earned approximately 26 rating points to rise from 2nd to 3rd place in the rating of British forwards.