Step on
Monday, 22 August, 2011
Diego Poyet relishing his first England game at this level, against Italy.
Tickets for FA U17 International Tournament matches are just £3 (adults) £1 (concessions), click here for full details
John Peacock has assembled his England team in Huntingdon ahead of this week’s FA International U17 Tournament, and midfielder Diego Poyet says he cannot wait for his first experience of football at this level.
The Charlton Athletic youngster, son of Brighton boss Gus, made seven appearances for the U16s last season and is now preparing to make the step up against Italy on Wednesday evening.
“I think it should be a really good Tournament,” he said of this week’s games.
“It will be great to get back with the rest of the squad after the Montaigu [Tournament], and there are some really good teams coming over to play us so it should be a great experience.”
Czech Republic and Portugal make up the quartet of teams looking to win this annual friendly competition, which Peacock uses as preparation for the First Qualifying Round of the U17 Euros, and Poyet says he will try and use it as a springboard for future games.
“When you look at the players that have played for the U17s before, like Jack Wilshere, and then look at what they’ve gone on to achieve, you can see that it can be a great stepping stone and a great learning curve for the future. This is my first chance to impress in this age group and hopefully I can do that.
“I play with Jordan Cousins at Charlton and I’ve talked to him about the U17s before and how he found it. He went to the World Cup in the summer and I’ve been asking him all about that as well. It should be a really good year for us all.”
After the Italy game on Wednesday, England will host Czech Republic at Bishop’s Stortford on Friday and will round things off against Portugal at Northampton Town on Sunday.