EWOOD ace David Dunn is hoping to boost his England credentials by leading the Under 21s to a famous victory in tonight's crunch play-off clash against Holland in Utrecht.

David Platt's young lions face the Dutch over two legs in order to determine who qualifies for next summer's European Championships.

And the Great Harwood-born youngster knows an eye-catching performance in front of England boss Sven Goran Eriksson could yet prove to be his passport to the World Cup finals next June.

Dunn had been touted for a call-up to the full international squad for tomorrow's friendly against Sweden at Old Trafford.

But, with so much hingeing on the Under 21s double-header, Platt insisted his skipper remained with him.

And Dunn is more than happy to showcase his talents at the more junior level.

"David Platt phoned me last week and just said I want you in my squad this time because it's a big qualifier," said Dunn.

"He did say though that if I continue to play well then there's no reason why I can't push myself into the senior squad for the next couple of friendlies.

"I, personally, think it's the right decision for me to play tonight because the Under 21s are important to me and it's a great opportunity to get some more vital experience under my belt."

"By saying that, I'm not hiding the fact that I want to play for the senior team as well and I think all the lads in the Under 21s will have similiar aims.

"But it's going to be difficult to make that step up because I've only been back in the Premier League for a couple of games."

"So I'm not getting carried away. I've had a lot of publicity and a lot of hype but the players in the squad have been doing it consistently at the top level for the last couple of seasons.

"And that's what I need to do if I want to join them."

A good result in Holland tonight would set Dunn and his team-mates up nicely ahead of the return leg at Derby's Pride Park next week.

England beat their hosts 4-0 in a recent friendly in what was Platt's first game at the helm.

And Dunn believes that will act as a great confidence-booster ahead of potentially tricky night.

"I think we'll be fine," said Dunn.

"We proved we can beat them last time out and we ended up winning that game quite comfortably on the night.

"Having said that, this is a totally different game in completely different circumstances. "But if we show the same attitude and commitment then we have a great chance.

"There are no bad sides at international level -- everyone is capable of beating everyone else.

"People backed us to win comfortably in Greece, for instance, but they ended up turning us over so we can't afford to be complacent."