England v France
UEFA European U19 Championship, Final
Windsor Park, Belfast
29 July 2005, 7pm

England goalkeeper David Martin has enjoyed a great European U19 Championship so far and is now aiming at victory in the final on Friday.

England beat Serbia and Montenegro in the semi-final after a Matthew Fryatt hat-trick saw off the challenge of the Eastern Europeans.

"I think we all knew that Serbia and Montenegro were beatable so it wasn't too much of a surprise that we won and we felt we deserved it for our performances throughout the season," David told TheFA.com.

David's father is a West Ham legend - Alvin Martin played 469 League games for West Ham United and won 17 caps for England including playing at the 1986 World Cup in Mexico.

With such a wealth of experience so close to hand, it is no wonder that David often looks to his dad for career guidance.

"Obviously he's been a big influence on me," David said. "He tries to tell me a few bits about goalkeeping - he knows quite a lot to be fair to him and he is really good at telling me the good points and bad points of my game.

"He passes on a lot of advice to both me and my brother [Joe], who is at Tottenham and has also played England.

"He tries to make us realise how hard it is going to be. We know that it is tough making it at the very highest level so we have a good chat every week and he makes sure that we are going along alright.

"Everyone in the family gets involved - I guess you could say we are very, very football-orientated family. [Dad] was out for the Serbia and Montenegro game and hopefully he will come out for the final on Friday."

As well as the wise words of his father, David also has plenty of role models in the game and has the benefit of working with England goalkeeping coach Martin Thomas.

"I look at a few goalkeepers around the world. Edwin van der Sar, Iker Casillas and Paul Robinson, England's current number one, are all great 'keepers and I try to take parts of their game so I can improve mine," David said.

"[Martin Thomas] has worked with the best but he makes you feel so comfortable. He has worked with Paul Robinson and the other England goalies so all the advice he gives is really useful for any young 'keeper."