It is indicative of how far Owen Hargreaves's international stock has risen over the last year that he knows he will walk straight back into the England side for their Euro 2008 qualifier against Israel in Tel Aviv tomorrow.
The Bayern Munich midfielder, once ridiculed by sections of the England support, was, along with Joe Cole, arguably one of only two English players to emerge from last summer's World Cup with his reputation enhanced.
And events in the aftermath of what was a disappointing campaign in Germany have only served to consolidate his recently acquired status as an automatic choice at the base of England's midfield diamond.
While Hargreaves was sidelined by the broken leg he suffered playing for his club in September, England were busy making life unnecessarily difficult for themselves in group E.
A scrappy goalless draw at home to Macedonia was followed by a tactical shambles in Croatia that resulted in a 2-0 defeat which has left Steve McClaren's squad in third place in the group, knowing a setback in the Ramat Gan stadium tomorrow could be fatal to their chances of reaching next year's finals.
But Hargreaves, whose return to action for Bayern helped his club eliminate Real Madrid from the Champions League earlier this month, has no qualms about re-entering the fray at a time when England are really feeling the heat.
"This is the next step, to be back with England and I feel I am ready," the 26-year-old declared. "I played against Real Madrid after only one game in the league, so this is just the next step."
The qualities Hargreaves showcased at the World Cup -- apparently unsappable energy, bite in the tackle and a growing tactical maturity -- have established him as McClaren's preferred option as the anchorman in a midfield in which Frank Lampard will be given the freedom to roam forward with Steven Gerrard operating from the right and Aaron Lennon on the left.
That Hargreaves could enjoy such status would have been difficult to predict even as recently as the start of the last year, when the Canadian-born midfielder was still having to deal with regular doses of abuse from England fans unconvinced that he belonged on the international stage.
That particular debate has long since fallen off the agenda, and Hargreaves insists he always believed that the fans would be won over once he got beyond the brief end-of-match cameos which characterized his early international career.
"The most important thing for me was always that the manager picks me and that he thinks I can do a job to help the team win," he reflected.
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