James Milner: Brazil match will show just how far Fabio Capello's England have come

James Milner believes Saturday's friendly against Brazil in Doha will be the ideal yardstick to demonstrate whether England should be considered serious World Cup contenders next summer.

Milner sees the clash with the former world champions as a chance to see how good England really are.

He said: "This is a great preparation game. You obviously want to play the best teams before a major tournament.

"If I was lucky enough to get on the field against a team like Brazil, it would be fantastic but it is all preparation for the summer.

"There are not too many better teams to test yourself against, and see how ready you are for a World Cup, than playing Brazil.

"They have been fantastic over the years and it would be nice to play them in the final next summer."

Milner has forced his way into Capello's plans after showing excellent form for Aston Villa since his club record £12million switch from Newcastle 15 months ago.

He added: "The World Cup is a long way away. It is a nice thing to have at the end of the domestic season and definitely something to aim for.

"I am not thinking about that too much at the moment. I am taking each game as it comes and playing as well as I can for Villa. That is what gets you into the England squad.

"I need to keep working hard, keep improving with Villa, and playing good football.

"I do believe every minute on the pitch is important, not just for England but week-in and week-out in the Premier League playing against top-class players.

"If you are lucky enough to get called into the England squad, and get the chance to get on the field, you've got to do well and prove that you should be chosen again.

"But then all the players want to keep improving and staking a claim to be in the squad."

Milner is delighted to have made the breakthrough at full level for his country and was even used as a left-back by Capello in the latter stages of the win over Belarus last month.

He said: "When you are working as hard as you can all the way through your career, and have played a lot of under-21 games, to get the full caps is obviously nice.

"It is your aim to play for England and now I've done that three or four times and the next aim is to stay in the squad and stay in the team.

"It's nice to move that goal on one more time and step up a level to keep getting in the squads and pushing for a place in the team.

"I don't think it adds to my confidence. It might change the way other people feel about you but obviously you've got that self-belief and confidence in your ability."