International Career
A former under-19 international, Johnson was called-up for the under-21 team at the 2009 UEFA U21 Championships in Sweden. He scored once in qualification and again in the first leg of the qualification play-offs against Wales U21s as the Young Lions narrowly won 5–4 on aggregate to qualify for the tournament. During the tournament, he started in two of the three group stage matches. He won the man-of-the-match award in the final group stage match against Germany that ended in a 1–1 draw and converted his penalty in the semi-final shoot-out win against Sweden.
In late February 2010, Johnson was named in the senior squad for the first time in Fabio Capello's 30-man shortlist for the upcoming March friendly against Egypt in May, but did not make the final 23. Two months later, Capello named Johnson in his preliminary 30-man World Cup squad. Johnson made his full England debut on 24 May in a World Cup warm-up match, a 3–1 friendly victory against Mexico at Wembley Stadium. Johnson came on as a late substitute for James Milner. The following week Capello announced his final 23-man squad, and Johnson failed to make the cut.
England's first game after the World Cup was against Hungary at Wembley. Johnson was named in the starting line-up for the first time, and played the entire game. He scored his first international goal on 3 September 2010 against Bulgaria in a Euro 2012 qualifier, which England won 4–0. He scored his second international goal against Switzerland in a 3–1 win after coming on as an early substitute for the injured Theo Walcott. In all, he made five appearances in qualifying as England progressed to the finals of Euro 2012.
Fabio Capello resigned as England coach in February 2012, and Stuart Pearce took temporary charge. Johnson started Pearce's only match as England manager, a 2–3 defeat at the hands of the Netherlands. When Roy Hodgson took over in May 2012, Johnson was not selected in Hodgson's 23-man squad for Euro 2012, but was named on standby in case of injuries. As of June 2012, Johnson has eleven England caps, and has scored two goals.
Read more about this topic: Adam Johnson (footballer)
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