Johnson was part of Capello's provisional squad of 30 for the finals in South Africa but failed to make the final 23. The winger has responded by helping City qualify for the Champions League and win the FA Cup this season and impressed when on international duty.
Now he is looking to help England overcome Switzerland at Wembley on Saturday and take a major step towards qualifying for the Euro 2012 finals next summer.
Johnson said: "I was really disappointed last summer to miss out on the World Cup finals.
"I was pleased to get in the 30 but really disappointed not to go to South Africa.
"I thought I was in good form after moving from Middlesbrough four months earlier.
"Maybe in hindsight, it was a blessing in disguise for me, a bit too soon after coming out of the Championship.
"But it has certainly helped me drive myself on even more.
"It made me think 'I'm going to come back and try even harder', that sort of thing.
"That's why I got my head down. I've got to make up for a bit of lost time.
"I've got to wait another three years for a World Cup now but we want to get to the European Championships."
Johnson admits having the importance of the defensive side of his game impressed upon him has been a crucial factor.
He said: "I've scored a few goals this season and important ones. I've been trying to create goals.
"But improving the defensive side of things has helped me play more games.
"People know that I'm going to work hard to get back and track the full-backs and things.
"If that's what I've got to do to stay in the team, I'm prepared to do that."
Johnson is excited about the prospect of Champions League football and is hopeful City can make a big impression after pipping Arsenal for the final automatic spot.
He said: "It's been a great season for the club and me personally.
"The chance of Champions League football next season, and to lift the FA Cup at Wembley, was a dream come true for me.
"The Champions League is the best club competition in the world and hopefully we can go quite a long way.
"We've finished third in the Premier League and missed out on the qualifying stages which is brilliant for us and we go into the season knowing we are already in the group stages.
"Hopefully we can qualify from that group and goodness knows where we can go from there.
"The confidence has been there all season with City. We've played some good football."
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I like Adam, but he must work hard on his crossing with both feet. It would also be a bonus if he could develop an extra yard of pace. He is still a young player and with hard work can be really top-class.
adam is another example of players improving under mancini. he has had a steady season and will work on his 90 minutes game (i have no doubt). he will, I believe, be one of the city stalwarts during our rise to supremacy and glorious reign - along with Joe hart, Vinny K, Nigel DJ and others. we are all over the blue moon - it is like a dream come true.
There's still another step AJ needs to take.
He is one of the best dribblers in the Premier league, able to beat players cleanly with skill alone, where most depend on buying a split second and letting pace do the rest. This makes him a big asset on the edge of the box. But he needs to work on his end product.. tough for him on the right, but needs to come up with either more goals or more deliveries.
Think he will benefit from having more players in the box as the team gains confidence and authority, and more striker options. Also from having Micah at RB.. a genuine overlapping right back which presents the dual threat of a left footer coming inside and a right footer going outside. This pair is a nightmare for the opposing defenders.
Adam is another of the 'blueboys' destined for great things next season.
He has the cool ability to really do well. Already a full England international and can play on either wing. Come on you blues!
I am not saying we will win it next season, but it would be nice to get the record of going to furthest in the Champions League on there debut (since it converted to the Champions League of course).
Does any know who has that record? Was Leeds Semi final their debut in the comp?
AJ has definitely made improvements to his game since his arrival but he's still got a ways to go before he can consider himself a true first 11 player. He needs to vary his play, improve his right foot & his crossing and get Shaun to teach him how to track back and tackle. In my opinion he's still just an impact sub until he up's his all-round game.
He will be at the next world cup.When city wre doing nothing as an attacking force, with the negative format at the time, when Johnson came on as a sub ,straight away he was an attacking threat, and created chances. He runs at defenders, and they don't know which way he is going into the area. I think he should start every game and have the opposing team worrying from the start, not with 20 minutes to go, on a salvage mission.