"I was watching the TV thinking ‘I’d love to play on the left for them,’" says Stewart of a summer in which he was more England fan than England player.

Now, having been called up by Sven-Goran Eriksson for Wednesday night’s friendly encounter with Holland, the exciting young Middlesbrough prospect is in a position to turn his dreams into reality.

"It’s all happened so quick this season," admits Downing, who wasn’t even fully convinced when The FA contacted him to tell him he’d got the nod.

"I thought the squad was going to be announced at seven in the evening but at 6.30 I got a text from the England Team Administrator [Michelle Farrer] saying that I was in," he says. "I was sure it was a wind-up because it was too early so I rang the number up to check. It was her though and she told me I was in."

So how has the new boy settled in to the England camp?

"Sven was very nice. When I arrived he came over, welcomed me and said: ‘Just enjoy yourself, be yourself andmake sure the lads look after you’ which they have done.

"Shaun Wright-Phillips came up to introduce himself to me straight away and I know people like Wayne Rooney from when we were both in the England U-19 squad a while back. He’s gone on to achieve a lot since then but he’s still a nice lad."

There is also another familiar face in the form of Steve McClaren, the Middlesbrough manager and the England coach.

"I was a bit weird seeing Steve McClaren on England duty as I’m obviously used to having him as my manager at club level," says the 20-year-old. "It definitely helps though because I wasn’t quite sure what to expect when I got here."

After a photo-call with fellow new call-up Andy Johnson, it was straight on to the training pitch, an experience Stewart relished:

"Training was good, I really enjoyed it. It was fast and sharp, maybe even a bit more so than I had expected. We had a bit of keep-ball to start with and then played five-a-sides with three teams: the oldies, the middle group and the young players.

"I had a few shots, set up one goal and our team finished second so I can’t moan about that.

"You’re trying to play your own game and you’re also trying to impress at the same time but the most important thing is to stay focused on your football."

As a winger, you have to be prepared to do battle with any kind of opponent, but even Stewart revealed he was surprised to come up against one particular defender in the session:

"I played against a few people in training, including Paul Robinson, who was playing at full-back. He’s not a bad player actually!"

Of the more conventional defenders, Gary Neville is someone for whom Downing has a great deal of respect.

"He’s probably been the toughest opponent that I’ve come up against so far in my career," he says. "When we have played Manchester United, I think he knew more about my game than anyone else I’ve come up against.

"He’d obviously done his homework on me, but you have to deal with that as a player and maybe add some new things to your game.

"My strengths are running at players, taking people on, creating goals for other people as well as scoring goals myself but I’m still looking to improve every aspect of my game.

"I can work on things like my strength - including in the tackle - and some tricks to get past people when I’m taking them on.

"Ryan Giggs is one of the players that I looked up to when I was growing up and I still watch him whenever I can. He’s the type of player that I want to be.

"I’ve watched Shaun Wright-Phillips over the last couple of months too.

"He’s got a great turn of pace but the other thing he’s got is the ability to get away from people when he’s running with the ball. That’s a really good thing to have when you’re dribbling with the ball."

One of Stewart’s own biggest attributes is his ability to cut in on his right foot and have a crack at goal. It has been a potent weapon for Middlesbrough over the last few months even if it’s not a skill he was naturally blessed with.

"It’s something I’ve been consciously working on," he explains. "A couple of years ago my right foot was just for standing on really but the manager has told me that I had to have another way out in case people started to read my game.

"You need to have a trick up your sleeve or the ability to switch it to your other foot. I’ve started to use my right foot more now and it’s certainly getting better all the time. If you can use both feet then you’ve always got different ways to get out of difficult situations."

Not that difficult situations concern Downing. Other young wingers might have been overawed by the prospect of facing European giants like Lazio only weeks after making a first-team breakthrough. But the big games seem to bring the best out of him.

"The Lazio game was probably my best game for Middlesbrough and I think Tord Grip was there that night too," he says of his UEFA Cup experience. "If you can do it against teams like Lazio, I don’t see why you shouldn’t able to do it against anybody else. It just breeds confidence."

So, if he does get the call on Wednesday night, you get the feeling Stewart Downing won’t do anything other than grasp the opportunity with both hands.

"I just want to get out there," he smiles. "It’s everyone’s dream to play for England. Just one minute would do me."