Matthew Upson has described how he fulfilled a boyhood dream in scoring for his country this week in the 2-1 win over Germany.
The defender, who is looking to build on his international success by helping West Ham United get a good result at Sunderland on Sunday, said it was a very special milestone in his career. "It was a great feeling to score, because it is something I have pictured doing since I was a kid. It was a really great evening, I enjoyed the game, it went well for us and the whole team played well to get the result. It was a special moment for me."
Upson said while the goal might not have been the most spectacular, the important thing was that it went into the back of the net. "It wasn't the best goal I have scored and will score, but I wasn't too fussed! It went in so I will take that on the goal front," he said. "The ball dropped down and I just had to get there first to poke the ball in."
He received deserved praise for his overall performance alongside England captain John Terry and it was a result of continuing hard work by the meticulous defender. "It is something I have been working on, what I can do at set-pieces and things like that. I noticed a while ago that in my game that I wasn't perhaps dangerous enough in this area, so I changed my approach a little bit and I am now trying to make it a strong point of my game."
England's victory in Berlin may have 'only' been a friendly, but Upson said the preparation and the match itself was treated extremely seriously by everyone in the camp. "Many people call these games friendlies because there are no points at stake, but we don't treat it like that. The manager certainly takes it seriously as he does with training. Everything is done properly, how we train and eat, everything.
"We do all the things we would do for any match, otherwise it is worthless, and therefore the manger and team can get something positive out of it."
Upson believes the draw against Portsmouth last time out can be used as a foundation to secure a good result against the Black Cats. "Every place you go, it is tough," said Upson "But we want to build on last week's draw with Portsmouth where we got our first clean sheet for a while and had a solid performance.
"Because we are away from home, we will be defending a lot more but perhaps hitting teams on the break will suit us a bit. So, maybe we can get in behind them, as we have the pace with the boys up front and hopefully get some goals from that. The result is very important for us."
Upson is looking forward to catching up with former team-mates, Anton Ferdinand and George McCartney. "I haven't really seen Anton or George since they moved up there, but will be good to see them again. I am sure there will be a good bit of banter between all the lads, but I will be at the other end to them on the pitch so won't have to hear too much of that! It will be good to see them though."