Bolton defender Gary Cahill admitted it was a 'great honour' to make his first England start in Tuesday night's friendly against Ghana.
The 25-year-old has long been touted for full international honours and already has two caps after substitute appearances under Fabio Capello against Bulgaria and Denmark.
The former Aston Villa centre-back acquitted himself well as he played the full 90 minutes, regularly stifling the Black Stars' attack and coming close to scoring himself.
Cahill admitted the performance was tinged by the disappointment of Asamoah Gyan's late equaliser in the 1-1 draw, but was keen to take the positives from his Wembley start.
Prepare
"I've got two other caps, obviously in different circumstances, so it was nice to play from the off and get a full 90 minutes under my belt,"he said.
"Obviously it was a great honour and I thoroughly enjoyed it, although I am obviously a little disappointed that we conceded late on.
"Knowing that you're starting, I kind of like, because you can prepare for the game, while when you come on as a sub it is difficult to get to grips with the pace of the game.
"But like I say, I was over the moon to get the nod having watched the game from the stands on Saturday.
"You want to get yourself out there and kick the ball around and it was a great honour to get 90 minutes."
Pleased
Despite the late equaliser, Cahill was one of the stand-out performers in a second-string England side alongside the likes of Ashley Young and Stewart Downing.
The trio will have undoubtedly boosted their claims for a regular place in Capello's side with their performances, and the defender believes the team can take positives from the draw.
"I was pleased with my performance,"he said."During the game I thought first half we dominated and second half they got into it a little bit more and obviously we're disappointed to concede late on.
"But I think there were a lot of positives to take out of the game and I was pleased with my overall performance."
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