JONAS Olsson is proud to have been called up to the Sweden squad for the first time in his career.

The Baggies centre-half has been included in new coach Erik Hamsen's party for their friendly against Wales at Swansea's Liberty Stadium next Wednesday (ko 7.45pm).

Olsson, who made 20 Under-21 appearances for his country, admits it gave him a huge lift to hear the good news from Sweden's assistant coach and former Villa striker Marcus Allback, following Sunday's disappointing 2-1 defeat at Bristol City.

And the giant defender is hoping he can impress enough to make himself a regular during their Euro 2012 qualification campaign.

"It was nice to get some good news as a pick-me-up after Sunday's defeat," said Olsson.

"I spoke to assistant coach Marcus Allback.

"I knew they have been looking at me and it's nice to make the final selection.

"I played in the Under-21 team for about two years.

"My last Under-21 cap was a long time ago and it's nice to be in the senior squad for the first time.

"It's something I've aspired to in my career.

"Anyone who has got ambitions as a footballer wants to represent their country and it is something I will be proud to do.

"It's a new coach and it feels good to be in the discussion about the squad so early on in his reign.

"I will do my best to convince him to keep selecting me.

"The Euro 2012 qualifiers are coming up in the autumn and hopefully we'll be back in the Premier League by then, which will increase my international chances even more."

It will be the first of two visits to the Liberty Stadium for Olsson this month as he is due to play there a fortnight later for the Baggies in their league clash with the Swans.

The £800,000 signing is set to report to Sweden's Wales base on Sunday and is delighted to be flying the flag for the Coca-Cola Championship on the international stage.

"Seb Larsson at Blues made the Sweden squad last season when he was in the Championship," he added.

"It shows the Championship is a good league and, if you look at the West Brom squad, you can see we have a lot of internationals." 

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