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England’s defensive injury woes could open the World Cup door for Tottenham Hotspur’s overlooked centre-half

Fabio Capello has called up 12 centre-backs for England duty so far, but Michael Dawson has yet to make that list. Nor was he given a game by the two previous managers, though Sven-Goran Eriksson and Steve McClaren named him in squads. But, with doubts over the fitness of a number of those 12 – most notably Rio Ferdinand, and Dawson’s Tottenham team-mates Jonathan Woodgate and Ledley King – it is not impossible the former Nottingham Forest man could find himself bound for South Africa next summer.

“There are lots of top-class centre-halves in this country, but dreams are there to be achieved and it would be a dream to play for England,” Dawson says. “Under Steve McClaren, I was in a few squads, but I wasn’t capped. Then, for one reason or another, I wasn’t playing and it’s a big factor — you need to be playing regularly for your club to get recognition for the national team. I have been doing that in recent weeks and long may that continue. You never know.”

Dawson, 26, and his in-form team play at Everton this afternoon. “Hopefully, Mr Capello will be watching and I will be doing enough. I have to concentrate on playing week in, week out for Tottenham and doing well for them.”

Dawson came close to World Cup selection in 2006. “I was called in for two weeks of training under Sven-Goran Eriksson and it was a great experience,” he recalls. “I wasn’t on the plane, but it was still fantastic and gave me the hunger to achieve.”

Near misses were already a theme for Dawson in 2006 because Tottenham had narrowly missed out on Champions League qualification. A defeat away to West Ham on the final day allowed Arsenal to overtake them and finish fourth, with the defender one of a host of Tottenham players debilitated by illness.

“Not to make it into the Champions League in that way was hard to take,” he says. “All I was thinking during the game was that I couldn’t wait to get to bed. It completely wiped me out. I had been up all night being sick and then had to run round for 90 minutes. Hopefully, this year, we won’t be looking back to the last game of the season.”

David Moyes, meanwhile, is still ambitious, despite Everton’s poor start to the season. “We want to finish in the top four,” says the Everton manager, who has had to cope with less money than many rivals, including today’s opponents.

“Tottenham have always been spenders. For what they have invested, they will have looked for a bit more over the years, but they have always been a good side. Harry [Redknapp] has done a brilliant job with the people he has brought in – they have done really well. They are capable of challenging for the top four.”

Tottenham HotspurPremier LeagueEvertonJamie Jacksonguardian.co.uk