Phil Neville wants to be celebrate his 10th anniversary as an England player in Germany next year.
By Chris Hatherall. Friday, 02 September 2005.
Phil Neville wants to mark the 10th anniversary of his first call-up to the England squad by playing in the World Cup finals next year.
Neville is a contender to replace his injured brother Gary at right-back against Wales on Saturday and Head Coach Sven-Goran Eriksson could hardly be able to call on a more experienced deputy.
Phil already has more than 50 caps for his country - and his association with the Three Lions goes back a long, long way.
The Everton man said: "I made my debut for England in 1996 and then made the squad for Euro 96, which was probably the best tournament I’ve been involved in.
"Now with this current team we’re reaching the kind of levels to emulate that side, because that was probably the best team I have played in over the last 10 years."
Neville insists he loves being involved in the England squad, even if at times over the last nine years he has had to endure the heartache of being left out of the starting eleven.
He said: "I love it with England. I have got 52 caps and I’m proud of every one of them. The World Cup is the only major tournament I have never been selected for and I’m looking forward to it, I want to be in there this time.
"Hopefully this season, after my move, I will play a lot more games for Everton and I’ll be at the forefront of the England manager’s mind. It’s every boys dream to play in a World Cup Finals but there is still a long way to go for us to achieve that."
Since leaving Manchester United to join Everton, Neville has played mostly in central midfield. But he insists there will be no problems switching to right-back for England if required.
He said: "Full-back is a position I have played throughout my career, it is the position I have most experience in. It’s not a problem moving back to right-back and I’m ready if needed."