Soccer-Tottenham's Dier called by England for Spain, France matches

LONDON, Nov 5 (Reuters) - Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Eric Dier was named in England's squad for friendly internationals against Spain and France on Thursday, his first call-up for the senior team. Dier, who grew up in Portugal and played for Lisbon club Sporting until joining Tottenham in 2014, has impressed for his club this season in a holding role. "We are more blessed with forward looking, attacking players, so this is a good opportunity for someone with a more defensive bent," manager Roy Hodgson told a news conference. "We haven't got many of those players available to us. He deserves his chance because he's been a key figure for Tottenham at the start of their campaign." He joins fellow Tottenham youngster Dele Alli in the 23-man squad for the matches against European champions Spain in Alicante and France at Wembley next week. Manchester City midfielder Fabian Delph and Everton defender John Stones return to the squad after injuries. England are begining their build-up for the Euro 2016 finals having qualified with a 100 percent record. Squad: Goalkeepers: Jack Butland (Stoke City), Joe Hart (Manchester City), Tom Heaton (Burnley) Defenders: Ryan Bertrand (Southampton), Gary Cahill (Chelsea), Nathaniel Clyne (Liverpool), Kieran Gibbs (Arsenal), Phil Jones (Manchester United), Chris Smalling (Manchester United), John Stones (Everton), Kyle Walker (Tottenham Hotspur) Midfielders: Dele Alli (Tottenham Hotspur), Eric Dier (Tottenham Hotspur), Ross Barkley (Everton), Michael Carrick (Manchester United), Fabian Delph (Manchester City), Adam Lallana (Liverpool), James Milner (Liverpool), Jonjo Shelvey(Swansea City), Raheem Sterling (Manchester City) Forwards: Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur), Wayne Rooney (Manchester United), Jamie Vardy (Leicester City) (Reporting by Martyn Herman, editing by Alan Baldwin)