Dawson gets taste for England

Stopper hungry for regular Three Lions spot

Last updated: 3rd September 2010   Subscribe to RSS Feed

Dawson gets taste for England

Dawson: England hunger

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Michael Dawson is determined to go into the next big tournament as an England regular after sampling the World Cup in South Africa this year.

The Tottenham defender was called into manager Fabio Capello's squad in the summer following captain Rio Ferdinand's withdrawal through injury.

Dawson did not see any action in England's four games, with Ledley King, Jamie Carragher and Matthew Upson partnering John Terry at centre-back.

But the 26-year-old says being involved has given him motivation to retain the Three Lions jersey.

Experience

"The World Cup was a great experience for me," Dawson told the FA's official website.

"I trained with the lads for two weeks over in Austria at the training camp and it was my dream to go to the World Cup although obviously not in the circumstances that it came about.

"It was devastating for Rio and, of course, the nation in losing the England captain. But for me it was an opportunity and a fantastic experience.

"Being in and around the lads was fantastic, and it makes me hungry to want to get into the team and then be part of a big tournament and play in it.

"It was great to be there with the lads, you become a lot more comfortable with them when you see them on such a regular basis. It was great to be training with them all the time."

Dawson, who made his England debut in last month's friendly against Hungary at Wembley, is looking to stake his Three Lions claim when playing in Europe with Spurs this season.

"Playing in the Champions League will only help me as regards England," he added.

"We go to the San Siro in the coming months, playing against Inter Milan, (in addition to playing) FC Twente and Werder Bremen. They're all top teams.

"It's only going to help me from a personal point of view to step up to the international level and, from a club perspective, it's where we've wanted to be for a long time."

Competition

Dawson will face competition from Gary Cahill, Phil Jagielka and Joleon Lescott for a spot in the line-up for Friday night's opening Euro 2012 qualifier against Bulgaria at Wembley.

"It's a team game and you're all fighting to be in that team. We all want the same thing," he said.

"But when you're training you get on both on and off the pitch so we know that whoever plays tonight, we'll back them and hopefully they'll do well."