MATTHEW Upson believes ‘‘plenty of places are up for grabs’’ in the England side with the World Cup finals only 12 months away.

Upson has become a more regular part of Fabio Capello’s plans as key defender Rio Ferdinand’s increasing absences give cause for concern.

The West Ham centre-back helped England to a 4-0 win over Kazakhstan in Almaty to move closer to qualifying for South Africa in 2010.

Capello was also without David James and Aaron Lennon through injury from the side which had scraped past Ukraine in April but England still won in a canter once they had overcome an uninspiring opening half hour.

And Upson feels that there is no automatic first choice XI with Capello prepared to give players a chance to impress if they are in form.

Upson said: ‘‘We made three or four changes and still won comfortably. It showed the quality and depth we have in the squad. We have some fantastic players in the squad.

‘‘I think the team is growing with every game and every get together and it looks very positive.

‘‘I’ve been really enjoying coming in and playing. It is a great experience for me and I feel really ready for the challenge now.

‘‘I really feel a part of the squad now and I want to keep maintaining that and progressing and improving as a player.’’ Upson added: ‘‘Do I sense there is no automatic first XI?

I think so. I think there are a lot of places up for grabs.

‘‘If people have a bad run of form, or there are injuries, there are opportunities for people to come in and stake a claim for a position.

‘‘That keeps everyone hungry.

Maybe in the past you could pick the first XI. There is an element at the moment where I don’t think you can do that. The manager can surprise people sometimes with his selection.’’ England have now won their opening six qualifiers, scored 20 goals in the process, and have acquired the knack of winning when not firing on all cylinders, as was the case against Kazakhstan.

Upson said: ‘‘It was a professional job. We came here to get a result. We achieved that. The game wasn’t overly memorable but we got the three points.

‘‘It was a difficult first 20 minutes. I thought they played with a real high tempo. They really shut us down and, fair play to them, but in the end we took some chances well.’’ Upson was full of praise for the full debut of his Hammers team-mate Robert Green and his ex-Birmingham colleague Emile Heskey who scored his first competitive goal for England in seven years.

He said: ‘‘Robert did well.

Those sort of games are really difficult for a keeper. There are big patches of the game where you don’t do anything.

‘‘Then, all of a sudden, you have got to be really focused and concentrated. It was good for him.’’