Hargreaves: An honour to play on Sunday

Owen Hargreaves would regard it as ‘‘an honour’’ if he plays in England’s opening World Cup match against Sweden on Sunday.

The Bayern Munich midfielder has starred in England’s warm-up matches and could be in the team for the vital first match.

Hargreaves told Sky Sports: ‘‘We will see who the manager plays. It would be an honour to be in the line-up on Sunday and hopefully get us off to a good start.

‘‘At the last World Cup I was sitting in the Bayern Munich apartment house watching the matches. I did not imagine at all that I would be here.’’

He added: ‘‘You are only as good as your last game. You need to put in a good performance every time you play and that is what I try to do.

‘‘I am happy that Sven has said positive things about me. I am 21 and learning a lot. Being on this stage at my age is amazing.’’