Steven Caulker will be hoping to push for a starting berth in the Tottenham first team after giving an assured display in the England Under-21's 2-0 victory over Azerbaijan.

The 20-year-old was a regular during his loan spell at Swansea last season and was handed a new four-year contract over the summer as he looks to force his way into the Tottenham first team.

He was given a major boost when new manager Andre Villas-Boas told Michael Dawson that he was now below Caulker in the pecking order, but he has yet to start a game for Spurs this season.

Steven Caulker
Caulker while playing on-loan for Swansea last season [Reuters] Reuters

However, he was handed the chance to impress by England Under-21 boss Stuart Pearce who will certainly have been pleased with the performance of the defender.

Caulker gave the visitors the lead with a glancing header from a Jonjo Shelvey free-kick as England looked to continue their serene progress in qualifying for next year's European Championships.

It was Shelvey who sealed the victory with a well taken goal which had been started by Caulker whose accurate long ball was met by Connor Wickham to nod the ball into the path of the Liverpool midfielder who calmly finished.

Caulker, who played the entire 90 minutes, revealed how pleased he was to help England pick up a vital three points.

"It was a great result," Caulker told the Tottenham website. "We came here to get the three points and we managed to do that.

"We feel that we could be better performance-wise, but it was the result that mattered and we're over the moon. I was delighted to get on the scoresheet."

Caulker will now hope that this performance can help him force his way into a Tottenham side which has conceded two late goals in their last two Premier League games at White Hart Lane.

Late equalisers in the games against West Brom and Norwich have left the club still seeking their first win of the season.