Injuries to club captain Ledley King and Jonathan Woodgate have elevated the reliable Dawson up the pecking order and the 26-year-old is now one of the first names on Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp's team sheet.
Dawson, a combative central defender in the mould of Chelsea's John Terry, wears the captain's armband in the absence of King and has been a rock at the heart of the London club's rearguard as they pursue fourth spot in the Premier League and their first FA Cup triumph since 1991.
Terry and Manchester United's Rio Ferdinand are Capello's preferred central defenders and the Italian also looks set to pick West Ham United's Matthew Upson but he would want four specialists in that area and Dawson's impressive form for Tottenham has put hime in the frame.
"It would be a great achievement and playing for England is something I would love to do," Dawson, who made the squad under Capello's predecessor Steve McClaren, told reporters after coming through a training session on Friday.
"I will never give up on that. I was in quite a few squads when McClaren was manager but unfortunately I didn't get a cap. All I can do is keep playing well and we'll wait and see.
"I looked at the last squad for the friendly (against Egypt) and unfortunately I wasn't in it but there is still lots of football to be played this season.
"There is myself, Joleon Lescott, Gary Cahill and Phil Jagielka is back playing, wheoever it is I'm just going to concentrate on playing well for Tottenham and hopefully everything else will take care of itself.
"You have to put in good performances week in week out, if you don't you can forget about playing for England."
He quickly made the first team and played all but one game in the 2006-07 season but the signing of Woodgate the following season and then Cameroon's Sebastien Bassong last summer left Dawson on the fringes of the first team.
"A few years ago we missed out on the last day," he said. "You look at the playrs we have in the squad we are certainly capable of playing in the Champions League.
