England Under-21 coach Stuart Pearce has backed Ryan Shawcross to shine on his England debut against Egypt tonight.
Pearce, who has worked with Shawcross at under-21 level, believes the 22-year-old deserves to be included in Fabio Capello's squad and would not let anyone down if he were to win his first cap at Wembley.
The timing of Shawcross' call-up has been criticised in some quarters, coming as it did only hours after he was sent off for a tackle that broke the leg of Arsenal midfielder Aaron Ramsey.
"I think what happened at the weekend is irrelevant," said Pearce. "He's in there on merit because the manager's seen him and thinks he's done very well over the season.
"I think he's a vastly improving player and I think there's a lot of talented young central defenders. Ryan's put together a good run of form for his club and he won't have a problem."