While much has been made of Pompey's so-called foreign legion, this was a victory very much made in England.

Jermain Defoe, Glen Johnson, David James and Peter Crouch all underlined their claims to be included in Fabio Capello's plans for the forthcoming World Cup qualifiers against Andorra and Croatia with fine displays at Goodison Park.

Capello names his squad for the double-header tomorrow night and all four of Portsmouth's England internationals could be included.

Striker Defoe, 25, found the net with a typically predatory effort in the 12th minute - Portsmouth's first goal in 528 minutes - and then turned provider with an exquisite pass to send Johnson clear for a second five minutes before the break.

Pompey's 2-0 advantage could have been halved two minutes after the restart but James enhanced his status as England's first-choice goalkeeper with a superb penalty save from former Pompey striker Ayegbeni Yakubu.

Defoe, fittingly, had the final say with a brilliant chipped effort in the 69th minute that left Redknapp punching the air in delight, while Crouch also excelled and set up Defoe's opener with a deft flicked header.

Pompey boss Redknapp beamed: "I'd been waiting for Jermain to come good - him and Crouchie - and it was nice to see them link up together.

"I'm not sure what Mr Capello will do - he's got (Wayne) Rooney there - but he will be in the squad, I'm sure of that.

"Glen is such a good player that he can play anywhere. He's got everything you need as a right-back.

"Sometimes he can get a bit casual but in terms of ability, he's absolutely top class."

James produced a breathtaking save to deny Mikel Arteta in the first half and excelled himself again when denying Yakubu from the spot.

Redknapp continued: "The keeper is different class. That was a world-class save in the first half to keep us 1-0 up and then to save the penalty as well; he's a fantastic goalkeeper.

"It's nice to have some English players at the club. Lassana Diarra will also go and play for France as well, so we've got some good players here."

Redknapp also insisted there was no lingering bitterness between him and Capello, despite the Pompey boss accusing the Italian of playing Steven Gerrard out of position on the left-hand side of midfield in the recent friendly with the Czech Republic.

The pair have since spoken, and Redknapp said: "It was quite funny actually. He said to me 'If you can play (Sylvain) Distin at left-back, then I can play Steven Gerrard on the left wing.'

"I told him he wasn't wrong! Things get blown up, but I've met him on several occasions and I've said if he can't bring success to England, then God help us because he's got a fantastic record."

Pompey arrived on Merseyside having lost their previous six league encounters in a dismal run stretching back to the end of last season. But this result brought some welcome respite and increased Everton boss David Moyes' worries.

None of Everton's three new signings featured and their squad remains desperately thin.

Moyes said: "We're probably not ready to win Premier League games at the moment.

"We've got a lot of young players in the side but it's not those players who are letting us down.

"There are big players in the team not playing as well as they should be."

ends