Sorensen looking to play
Danish goalkeeper Thomas Sorensen is hoping his retirement from international football will aid his club career at Stoke City.
Sorensen, 36, received 101 caps for his country, but has decided to call it day at international level, in order to focus on doing his best for Tony Pulis at Stoke.
The experienced goalkeeper is hoping that quitting his country will allow him to play on for another four years in domestic football.
"It's never easy to make that sort of decision when something has been such a big part of your life, as playing for my country has been for the last 10 to 12 years,'' said Sorensen. "But I feel I have another three or four more years left in me yet, and this decision will enable me to focus on my club career. I felt it was the right time to step down.''
It won't be straight forward for the Dane, as he faces stiff competition from Asmir Begovic to be the first choice goalkeeper at Stoke.
Both men had spells as the club's custodian last season, but neither made it their own, with Sorensen ending the campaign as the No.1.
"In many respects this is the start of something new for me, and I will be giving my all for Stoke from now on in the hope I can feature in the manager's plans,'' added Sorensen on the club's official website. "Going away on international duty was always very hard. It was 10 days virtually every month through the season where the training was very intense.Now I will have more time to recover and keep the focus, which can only improve my chances of playing for much longer, which is what I want to do at club level.''