Robert Green, Matthew Upson and Carlton Cole staked their claim for a place in Fabio Capello's 2010 FIFA World Cup squad by appearing in England's 3-1 friendly win over Egypt at Wembley.
Goalkeeper Green, who produced a near-flawless display, and centre-back Upson were both named in Capello's starting lineup, completing a full 90 minutes against the African champions. Meanwhile, Cole was sent on as an 86th-minute substitute for Manchester United forward Wayne Rooney.
Green was handed his ninth cap between the sticks, while Upson earned his 19th in the absence of Manchester United's injured ex-West Ham United defender Rio Ferdinand, and Cole made his seventh substitute appearance for his country.
Egypt, who had lost to England on each of the countries' previous two meetings - a 4-0 friendly defeat in Cairo in January 1986 and a 1-0 group-stage reverse at the 1990 FIFA World Cup in Cagliari - took the lead through Borussia Dortmund forward Mohamed Zidan, who capitalised on an unfortunate slip from Upson before confidently slotting the ball past Green on 23 minutes.
At the other end, two of the eight former or current Hammers in the 24-man squad - Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard and Tottenham Hotspur striker Defoe - had England's best chances of the first half, only to find 37-year-old goalkeeper Essam El Hadary in inspired form.
Green made a save from Zidan early in the second period before substitute Peter Crouch - on for club-mate Defoe at the break - smartly swept in Gareth Barry's right-wing cross on 56 minutes.
Having levelled the scores, England took the game to their north African opponents, with Rooney going close with a spectacular overhead kick in front of an 80,602-strong crowd at the Home of Football.
England's pressure finally told with 15 minutes remaining, when Shaun Wright-Phillips rifled past El Hadary after the goalkeeper had parried fellow replacement James Milner's fierce volley.
The Manchester City winger turned provider with ten minutes to go, sliding the ball square for Crouch to score his 20th goal in 37 appearances for his country.
The Hammers trio will be hoping to have impressed Capello sufficiently to be named in the Italian's 23-man squad for this summer's tournament in South Africa - which England begin by taking on Jonathan Spector's United States at the Bafokeng Stadium in Rustenburg on Saturday 12 June.
Capello will name his final selection for the tournament on 1 June following two final warm-up fixtures against Guille Franco's Mexico at Wembley on 26 May and Japan in the Austrian city of Graz on 30 May.
Earlier on Wednesday, James Tomkins was an unused substitute for England Under-21s as they went down 2-1 at home to Greece in the race for the 2011 UEFA European U21 Championship.
Tomkins had featured in the previous five qualifiers - three wins and two draws - before being sidelined for the latest match in Doncaster. The reverse has left Greece in pole position and five points clear of Stuart Pearce's Young Lions at the top of Group 9.