Football
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Jack Butland 'here to challenge' Joe Hart for England No. 1 spot

Jack Butland is determined to make the most of just his second competitive England start.

A long injury lay-off robbed the Stoke goalkeeper of 16 months and the chance to displace Joe Hart, making the 24-year-old all the more determined to impress.

Gareth Southgate has confirmed Butland will be one of the changes for Sunday's final World Cup qualifier against Lithuania -- a dead rubber ideal for experimentation in terms of tactics and personnel.

The keeper's second competitive England appearance will come in the same place as his first, having started in Vilnius with Euro 2016 qualification already wrapped up two years ago.

However, things went awry before the European Championship as a seemingly innocuous moment in a friendly against Germany led to a stress fracture of Butland's ankle and the long road to recovery at just the wrong time.

"My motivation ... my desire to keep playing and being as good as I can," the Stoke player said ahead of winning his sixth cap.

"Obviously the injury was a really big setback for me at a point where I thought there was an opportunity for me to take a spot, if you like.

"So, yeah, after coming off the season I had at Stoke to then have that happens was tough and to miss 16 months in the end.

"I was 19 when I made my debut and a hell of a lot has happened since then, ups and downs, but I'm still 24, I am back where I want to play in terms of playing in the Premier League and being in the international setup.

"What's gone has gone and I'm looking forward to being successful for club and hopefully country as well."

Butland is pushing hard to become England's No. 1 and usurp Hart, who put in a man-of-the-match display in Thursday's 1-0 defeat of Slovenia.

That 74th appearance saw him overtake World Cup winner Gordon Banks and become England's third most capped goalkeeper, although he will have to wait to equal David Seaman's record of 75.

Butland -- Southgate's captain when England Under-21s boss -- has been given the nod and hopes to do well on the plastic pitch in Vilnius.

"For me, as a goalkeeper, you can't really showcase anything," he said. "You've just got to deal with what comes.

"The most important thing about being a goalkeeper is being calm, being consistent, being there when you need to be.

"You don't get the ball enough like the outfield players to go and make things happen. It's obviously a different style.

"For me, it's just about putting [in] a performance when called upon, doing it right, being that calming influence and coming away with a clean sheet and three points.

"From a goalkeeper's point of view it is slightly different, and, yeah, I am looking to continue my club form and hopefully keep a clean sheet.

"I don't believe it'll be purely on international form.

"Obviously Joe is now our third-most capped goalkeeper. He's rightly had the No. 1 spot for a long time and I'm just here to challenge that.

"I've stepped into situations before with little experience at a young age, at Under-20 World Cups and the Olympics and things like that.

"I like to step up to the occasion and even if I don't play much coming up [until the World Cup], I back myself either way.

"For me, it's not a big issue -- I'll just do as well as I can when I can."

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