Seven years later, Solanke says he never lost hope about another England call-up

BURTON UPON TRENT, England : Dominic Solanke has the England shirt from his lone appearance for the national team framed on his wall, and while seven years have passed since he wore it, the Tottenham Hotspur striker said he never gave up hope of another call-up.

The 27-year-old earned his second one - finally - for England interim manager Lee Carsley's squad for Nations League games against Greece and Finland and hopes he can stick with the team for a while.

"I think over the years, when I do see it (the shirt), I've always thought 'When I get back there and win more caps for my country ...'" said Solanke, whose England debut in 2017 was a friendly against Brazil. "Having something like that on the wall is definitely extra motivation.

"I didn't think it wouldn't come around," he added after England's training session on Tuesday at St. George's Park. "(I had to) just keep playing well and scoring goals, and I always believed that I would get back here. That was my mindset. I'm thankful to be back here now, and hopefully I can stay here."

Solanke has scored three goals for Spurs in all competitions this season, having joined the London club from Bournemouth in a deal worth up to 65 million pounds ($85.25 million) in August.

After pouring in 21 goals for Bournemouth last season, Solanke was disappointed to have been left off former England manager Gareth Southgate's team that finished runners-up to Spain at Euro 2024. He used it as fuel.

"It was definitely something I was pushing for, but there's so many good players that could represent England, probably one of the strongest in the world, and I didn't quite manage to make the squad, which I was disappointed about. But that's football," he said.

"It's a dream to play for your