Roy Hodgson spoke to Jermain Defoe just once as England manager - a call with bad news before the 2014 World Cup.
Defoe, who moved to Toronto from Tottenham three months before the finals in Brazil, has earned a sensational return to the international fold after an exile of more than three years.
The Sunderland striker thought his chance with England had gone - even though he kept the St George's flag stitched on to his boots.
'We only had one conversation with him on the phone,' Defoe said.