England U19 v Poland U19
International U19 Friendly
7.45pm, 6 February 2007
The Fitness First Stadium at Dean Court, AFC Bournemouth
Ticket Hotline 08700 340380
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For a young defender there can be few tougher games to make your debut in than an FA Cup Third Round tie against lower opposition, but as with everything that comes his way Elliot Omozusi took it in his stride.

Fulham travelled to Leicester in the Third Round in January and with last season'sexit at this stage to Leyton Orient, many had tipped the Cottagers as a potential giantkilling once more.

While Leicester took the game all the way to a replay, Fulham were eventually victorious and Elliot enjoyed a baptism of fire in the famous competition.

"It was good, getting a start against Leicester and playing the whole game was really good for me," Elliot told TheFA.com. "I knew the day before that I was going to play and it was really good.

"I got some good feedback after the game, and it's pleasing when people say that you've done well.

"Chris Coleman does a lot of one-on-one feedback that really helps you specifically with your game. In quite a few of the sessions he'll pull people aside and tell them what he thinks.

"He doesn't really tell you what to do, he tells you what he thinks and gives you another scenario or option to what you currently know, so it's good."

The FA Cup has many special memories for Elliot as a supporter and he now has his first memory as a player.

"It's a great competition and I'm so happy to be a part of it now," Elliot explained.

"You just know in this competition that anything could happen, the little teams have always got a chance against the bigger sides.

"I supported Arsenal growing up and I've seen them lift the trophy and suffer upsets as well, it's the one everyone wants to play in."

From an international perspective Elliot has enjoyed a year of great progress with England, earning four caps for the U19s and being involved with every squad.

"It's been a really good season and obviously being called up again for this game with Poland is another bonus," Elliot revealed.

"It's always good individually to get called up for your country, as a team we're trying to build for the European Championship in the summer.

"We have a tough qualifying group but hopefully we can get through and make it to the finals in Austria.

"We played Holland a couple of months ago, it was a tight game and we knew what they were about. They were very technical but we matched them well and we played well as a team.

"Hopefully this time around we can get a result against them, as far as the other teams go we've got nothing to be too afraid of, we've got a good squad and we just have to be positive."

That positive attitude is sure to come to the fore in this evening's game, and Elliot is confident that the supporters are in for a treat.

"This side are always looking to play attacking football and there's always the promise of a lot of attempts on goal.

"We've got a lot of flair players and it's a chance to see the future of England. There's a number of players who are making their way in the first team squads around the country which is great.

"I hope the fans enjoy it and I hope they come out and see us in the qualifiers in May."