West Ham's James Tomkins is in the GB men's football squad

James Tomkins excited to make his Team GB debut

Hammers defender James Tomkins is enjoying his time training with the Team GB football squad and can’t wait to pull on his shirt for the very first time on Friday, when Stuart Pearce’s men entertain Brazil in a friendly game.

Team GB will face the Samba Boys at Middlesbrough’s Riverside Stadium in a warm-up match ahead of the London 2012 Olympic Games, and Tomkins is looking forward to facing a Brazil team full of stars – from Porto striker Hulk to Santos superstar Neymar and AC Milan’s Alexandre Pato.

“You know what to expect when it comes to Brazil,” said the 23-year-old central defender. “They will be technically very good and we’ll have periods of the game where we might not have too much of the ball, so we’ll have to be very disciplined as a team.

“I’ve watched Brazil so many times over the years and you know they bring up the young lads the exact same way.

“I’m looking forward to it as an experience of another country I’ve not played before.”

Tomkins has been on the end of mixed results in Middlesbrough before, but the defender believes the stadium will play an important part in the warm-up fixture.

“I played there with West Ham last season and won, which was good, but there was a cup game we didn’t do so well in so I’ve had the good and the bad there,” he said. “It’s a big pitch and physically demanding, but it’s about what we can get out of the game to help us in the tournament.

“Results come later on, I’m sure this is going to be a great occasion, and it would be great to get the confidence going early on.”