Lewis Dunk has been told he will make massive strides with England under-21s, even if he does not get on the pitch tonight.

The Albion defender is in Stuart Pearce’s squad to face Iceland at Colchester in a Euro qualifier and is expected to be at least among the substitutes.

England will be at Wembley to watch the seniors play Spain on Saturday and then go to Mons to take on Belgium on Monday.

This is the Brighton-born defender’s first taste of international football but club mate Craig Mackail-Smith, who has broken into the senior Scotland set-up this year, believes it will do him a world of good.

The Albion striker said: “He will be meeting new people, he’s going to have play different ways.

“He will be playing and training with some of the top young talent in England and he needs to learn everything he can from it. You go into the squad and you don’t know many people and that brings you out of yourself.

“You have to go and meet new people, start conversations with new people and that gives you confidence. It will be a fantastic experience for him and he deserves it.”

Mackail-Smith is hoping to feature for Scotland tomorrow as they play Cyprus in Larnaca and would love to see extra dates fixed up.

He said: “Having more friendlies is a great idea.”