Smith on song after shining on his Under-21s debut

Tottenham defender Adam Smith had to sing R Kelly's "I Believe I Can Fly" on joining up with the England Under-21s – and he was certainly walking on air after making a successful debut.

The young full-back was drafted into the squad by Stuart Pearce as reward for his good performances for England in the Under-20 World Cup. In fine form on loan at League One leaders MK Dons, Adam came on for his Under-21s debut in the second half of Monday's friendly against Israel at Barnsley's Oakwell.

Trailing 1-0 at half-time, Adam put in a faultless display at right-back and helped keep a clean sheet in the second half alongside Spurs team-mate Steven Caulker as England turned the 1-0 deficit into a 4-1 win.

"I'm absolutely buzzing," said Adam. "I thought I did well for the Under-20s, things are going well at MK and to get called-up and make my debut for the 21s, it was fantastic. The first half wasn't the best but luckily myself and Steven Caulker helped the team turn it around on the night and in the end it was a good win. Fingers crossed I'll now be involved in the squad for the European qualifiers next month."

Adam added: "I met up with them on the Saturday night. I then had to sing in front of all the squad!" It's a football custom for newcomers to sing in front of their team-mates – a ritual that's all part of being the new boy in town. "Everyone was in the dining room when I arrived and I was thrown straight into it," he added.