Upson expects with England

Matthew Upson is being widely tipped to earn his 15th England cap on Saturday when England take on Kazakhstan in FIFA World Cup qualifying.

The West Ham United defender is in pole position to replace the injured Rio Ferdinand and line up alongside John Terry for the match in Almaty which sees England looking to make it six wins out of six on the road to South Africa. Upson faces competition from Everton's Joleon Lescott but will hope recent experience could give him the edge.

Upson, who did not miss a league match this season, played the whole 90 minutes in the 5-1 victory against the Kazakhs at Wembley back in October. Whether he plays or not, the 30-year-old is relishing being involved around the camp again. "I am enjoying being with England and looking forward to the games coming up," he said.

"I see it as another opportunity for me, hopefully I will get some action and get to play, but it's just great to be involved. It's ten days of training, two important games for qualification for the World Cup, so I am very much looking forward and then having a good break and being ready again for the new season."