England defender Ryan Shawcross speaks exclusively to FATV ahead of Sweden trip

By Nicholas Veevers

Ryan Shawcross is hoping to make an international breakthrough in Stockholm on Wednesday night.

The Stoke City defender is in Roy Hodgson's squad for the game with Sweden after his consistent performances for the Potters caught the eye.

And with England looking to end 2012 on a high in Scandinavia, the 25-year-old now wants to impress on the international stage and collect his first senior cap.

Speaking exclusively to FATV, he said: "It's always good to come away with the national team and now I've been a few times I'm starting to feel at home.

"Hopefully we can get a positive result out in Sweden and that's the main point of this week really.

"If you're playing well, you get noticed. At Stoke last year, we played in Europe and that got us a few headlines.

"On a personal level, if I'm doing okay and being consistent, I always felt that I had enough to hopefully break into the England squad and luckily enough I have done, so I want to stay in it."

The former Manchester United youngster, whose first call-up to the Senior squad came for the game with Egypt in 2010, also revealed that he turned down the opportunity to represent Wales earlier this year.

"When I was a schoolboy, I played for Wales because I went to school in Wales but when I turned 16, there was a rule that said I couldn't play for Wales," he explained.

"But in recent months, that rule changed and I can play for Wales again. But I've always wanted to play for England and I spoke to Chris Coleman, and Gary Speed before that, and made it clear that I wanted to play for England, so there was never really any choice."

Watch the full interview with Ryan below, as he speaks about competition for places in the England squad and Steven Gerrard's 100th cap.