Crouch enjoyed his battle with Cahill in Saturday's 2-2 draw and said: "I played with Gary when he was coming through the ranks as a kid at Villa and for me he is a fantastic centre-half with all the tools.
"He is still young and if he bides his time he is good enough to be part of the England set-up for a long time.
"He did not give me any freebies today and he is going to be top-drawer. But hopefully I've done enough to stay in Capello's thoughts."