NICK Pope is focusing on England's two friendlies next week as he looks to lay down a challenge for the number one spot ahead of the World Cup.

The Clarets goalkeeper will be bidding to win his first Three Lions cap against either Nigeria at Wembley on Saturday or Costa Rica at Leeds on Thursday.

While Pope admits having the shirt for the first game of the World Cup - against Tunisia on June 18 - is what everybody is aiming for, he knows the friendlies are going to be key to that.

The 26-year-old edged out Joe Hart for the third goalkeeping spot in Gareth Southgate's 23-man squad, but he faces competition from Jordan Pickford and Jack Butland, who are also relatively inexperienced in terms of caps, with Pickford having just two to his name and Butland seven.

But Pope will hope to get a taste of international action before heading out to Russia, and he said: "The friendlies are what you’re looking at really now. The first game is when everyone wants to have the shirt but the two games coming up will decide who plays that first game.

"They’re what you keep your focus on really. Get to the first of these next two games and see how it goes and prepare myself as best as I can in the next two weeks in training to give myself the best chance of getting on the pitch."

Pope has joined Iceland winger Johann Berg Gudmundsson is becoming the first Burnley players to head to a World Cup since Billy Hamilton and Tommy Cassidy were part of the Northern Ireland squad for Spain 1982.

Pope is also the first Clarets to head to a World Cup with England since John Conneely in 1962 and the call-ups are further signs of the progress being made at Turf Moor, with Burnley finishing seventh to claim European football next season.

"They were a bit before my time, 1962 was," Pope said of his history-making call-up.

"For the club to get into Europe, to have the season we’ve had, is a massive achievement.

"You get a real buzz around the town and it’s something that everyone is proud of.

"When all the fans started singing about going on a European tour it was ‘we probably won’t, but we’re here and we’ll make the most of it’.

"It turned into a reality for us. For the town and the fans it builds every week, every time we picked up a result, we got the five wins in a row and that’s when you really thought it became possible, that’s where you started looking to seventh, or even sixth, rather than behind ourselves.

"It’s a great year to be part of this club and to be involved and play is great, it’s the best experience of my career."