Fab show put Alex in frame for Scots

May 18 2008 By Gavin Berry

ALEX PEARCE wondered if he'd caught new England boss Fabio Capello's eye when making his full debut for Reading earlier this year.

But it is his Scotland career that now looks set to take off just four months on from that FA Cup tie against Spurs.

Capello turned up to take in the fourth-round replay and central defender Pearce put in a solid display.

The Oxford-born 19-year-old - whose mum is from Aberdeen - was later guessing what the Italian might have thought of his performance as he's also eligible to play for England.

However, Pearce was instead soon celebrating his first ever Scotland Under-21 call-up for Tuesday's friendly against Norway at Rugby Park.

Once he plays a competitive game at that level he'll have to ditch all thoughts of Capello and the Three Lions but the youngster insists he will have no hesitation in opting for Scotland.

Pearce, who spent the last three months of the season on loan at Norwich, said: "Capello saw me in January when I made my Reading debut and you always wonder what he thought of your performance and if you caught his eye.

"I suppose I'll never know but it's ironic that I then got my first Scotland Under-21 call-up.

"You have top lay a competitive game at Under-21 level before you rule yourself out of another country and that hasn't happened yet.

"But I'm not really thinking of England anymore as I can't turn down this Scotland opportunity."

Pearce admitted getting the shout from Under-21s boss Billy Stark came as a shock to him.

He said: "The call-up came out of the blue because I hadn't heard from Scotland for a while and suddenly Reading sent me a letter saying I'd been selected.

"I've played for the Scotland Under-17s and Under-19s so this is another step up.

"The fact I was born in England has never been a problem for me, I was just happy to play international football.

"As a kid growing up that's all I wanted to do and when the chance came to play for Scotland I couldn't turn it down."