VIDEO: Hart & Carson Exclusive
Thursday, 06 October, 2011
Goalkeepers speak to FATV about Friday's game with Montenegro.
As England fly out to Montenegro on Thursday morning ahead of Friday's final Euro Qualifying game, goalkeeping duo Joe Hart and Scott Carson sat down with FATV for an exclusive chat.
The Three Lions know that if they avoid defeat in Podgorica, then that will be enough to secure their qualification for the Finals in Poland and Ukraine next summer which was the ultimate aim when the games began last summer.
"I think from day one it's about that," admitted Hart. "Obviously it's nice to play well, and we want to play well at Wembley and entertain the fans because they turn out in great numbers.
"But the ultimate goal is to get to the Championship and we're doing the right things at the moment to do that. It's the result that matters."
Hart has now firmly established himself as Fabio Capello's first choice and has been an ever-present in the qualifying games so far, but he now claims this will be his biggest test in an England jersey.
"I've never played a game as key as this one is going to be for my country," he admitted. "With the Under-21s it was key to get into the tournaments, the play-off matches, but this is another level isn't it?
"It's a big game and we have a lot of experienced players, we've all played big games before and we'll bring that experience. At the end of day it's 90 minutes of football and we're playing well as a unit, so we'll just bring that into Friday."
As for Carson, he's now settled into life in Turkey where he is plying his trade with Bursaspor and enjoying his football in what is a new environment for him and his family.
His form there hasn't gone un-noticed by Capello and his scouts, so he admits he's delighted to be a part of the England set-up still.
"I've played all my career in England so to go to another country was obviously a big challenge," he admitted.
"It's a massive step, I've got a young family so it was a really tough decision. So far, it has gone ok for me, I think the hardest part of the move has now gone and we seem to have settled really well."
Watch the full, six minute interview with the pair now by clicking here.