Stoke captain Ryan Shawcross continues his long wait to make his England debut by setting his sights on a friendly against Sweden next month.
The 25 year-old centre-back was forced to sit on the substitute bench for the second time in five days as England could only draw 1-1 with Poland in Warsaw.
The Stoke man is hopeful of regaining his place in the squad for the trip to Stockholm on November 14th and would love the chance to get on to the pitch at some point.
The defender had the odds stacked against him to make his debut in a clash, which as predicted needed the best from the England defence which withstood wave after wave from Poland before taking an undeserved lead through Wayne Rooney.
“I think a point here may be good when the group is decided next October, Rod Hodgson told the waiting press after the game as he admits it was one of England’s worst performances since he took control.
“I don’t think it was one of our better performances, but we did get the result. It gives me heart that we showed some character.”
Previously to the recent two qualifying games that Shawcross was called up for, it was the first time since March 2010 that he was called up to the squad. He is hoping it won’t be another two years to get his next call up.
Competition for centre backs is tough, with the likes of Gary Cahill, Phil Jagielka, and Joleon Lescott all appearing above Shawcross in the pecking order, Chris Smalling and Steven Caulker are also going to be in competition after returning from injury and representing the under-21s respectively.
