West Brom defender Craig Dawson would love England call-up

The Albion defender has been encouraged by Gareth Southgate's decision to call-up uncapped players like Burnley's Michael Keane and Southampton's James Ward-Prowse. And he hopes his team-mate's inclusion means the England boss will come and watch more Baggies games in the future, giving him a chance to impress.

Dawson made 15 appearances for England under-21s and also played for Team GB at the 2012 Olympics.

Now 26, he's been a mainstay in the Albion back-line for more than two years, and is in top form for the Baggies.

He's been on the FA's long list of potential England players before but has never received a call-up to the senior national squad. "It's brilliant that Jake's in the team," said Dawson. "He played very well the other night (against Germany) as well.

"Of course, it's everyone's dream to play for their country and if I keep working hard, keep performing, who knows? Everyone's got a chance. It would be brilliant to be picked."

Manchester United defender Phil Jones was forced to withdraw from the England squad with a suspected broken toe before the Germany friendly but Southgate called up Middlesbrough's Ben Gibson instead.

Dawson, therefore, returned to the Albion training ground on Thursday and Friday alongside the other players not on international duty before taking the weekend off.

"It's obviously a little bit quieter than normal but there's still the same intensity as a standard week," he said.

Last weekend, the right-back pounded two headers past Arsenal in a stunning 3-1 victory at The Hawthorns.

Having seen fellow defender Gareth McAuley score seven goals so far this season, he was delighted to get in on the action.

"The one thing I've been missing this season is scoring," he said. "So it was nice to finally get a couple and hopefully I can get a few more before the end of the season.

"It's obviously important to chip in when you can from set plays. We are very dangerous from them but when you're a defender it's all about defending. I'd take a clean sheet for the team over me scoring personally any day."