{"id":551098,"date":"2020-05-07T11:00:06","date_gmt":"2020-05-07T15:00:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonfootball.com\/?p=551098"},"modified":"2020-05-07T11:00:06","modified_gmt":"2020-05-07T15:00:06","slug":"japhet-tanganga-targets-england-call-up-following-breakout-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/2020\/05\/07\/japhet-tanganga-targets-england-call-up-following-breakout-season\/","title":{"rendered":"Japhet Tanganga Targets England Call-Up Following Breakout Season"},"content":{"rendered":"

Following an impressive breakout campaign, Tottenham Hotspur<\/a> defender Japhet Tanganga<\/a> has set his sights on a call-up to the England squad.<\/p>\n

The 21-year-old was beginning to establish himself in the Spurs defence after an eye-catching debut performance<\/a> against Liverpool<\/a> in January. Although the campaign has been interrupted by the coronavirus pandemic, that hasn’t stopped Tanganga from dreaming big and looking ahead.<\/p>\n

Japhet Tanganga Targets England Call-Up Following Breakout Season<\/h2>\n

Setting International Sights<\/h3>\n

The prospect of coming up against Mohamed Salah<\/a> and Sadio Mane<\/a> is daunting for any defender. Even more so for a defender that is playing out of position, and on their Premier League<\/a> debut. That was exactly what happened to Japhet Tanganga, who more than held his own against the league leaders. Since being dropped into the lion\u2019s den, Tanganga has gone from strength to strength. He has featured in a further nine games for Spurs in all competitions.<\/p>\n

Tanganga\u2019s versatility has seen him be deployed across the Spurs backline while looking comfortable in the process. During the season\u2019s pause, the young defender\u2019s attention now turns to the next step in his career.<\/p>\n

Speaking to Sky Sports<\/a>, Tanganga voiced his desire to force his way into Gareth Southgate<\/a>\u2019s England squad:<\/p>\n

\u201cIn life you have to have goals and one of my goals is to be capped at senior level for England,\u201d Tanganga said. \u201cFor me, all I can do is what I can on the pitch and leave it with the England manager to select me.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll I\u2019m doing at the moment is following the guidelines and waiting for the government to decide when we can go back to football or not. Right now, that\u2019s all I\u2019m focusing on.<\/p>\n

\u201cLike I said, in life, you have to have ambitions and one of my goals is to get capped at senior level for England.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jose Mourinho’s Influence<\/h3>\n

Tanganga will rightly soak the praise for his own rise. However, he will no doubt owe a lot of that to his manager. Jose Mourinho made a big call to hand the youngster his debut against the league leaders. And while the result ultimately didn\u2019t favour Spurs, Mourinho provided a springboard into launching Tanganga\u2019s career in senior football.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe has taught me a lot. In training he\u2019s given me a lot of information, a lot of details, a lot of ways to improve.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow to defend one v one, how to defend set-pieces or work in wide areas and at corners. He\u2019s given me a lot of information and I feel playing right-back and left-back has added to my game and allowed me to be adaptable and defend in all areas of the pitch, not just at centre-half.\u201d<\/p>\n

Main Photo<\/p>\n

Embed from Getty Images<\/a>