Waiting for Wycombe
By Nicholas Veevers
Tuesday, 16 November, 2010
Former U17 captain Conor Coady can't wait to get back in action for England.
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The last time Conor Coady had the Three Lions on his chest, he was holding aloft the European Championship trophy as captain of the England U17 side last May.
Tonight, he will be back on home soil and representing his country again, this time as an U18 international and the Liverpool starlet is looking forward to facing Poland at Adams Park.
“I can’t wait for it,” said the midfielder.
“It’s the best feeling in the world to pull on the England shirt and to play for your country is just the most surreal experience you’ll ever be a part of.
“I’m proud to wear the shirt and I just go out and try to give everything I’ve got on the pitch. I just can’t wait to do it again now. All my family’s coming down to Wycombe so I think they’re looking forward to it, too.
“I haven’t played against any Poland side before and because we’re European Champions they’ll probably come to prove themselves and look to get a result so it should be a difficult game.”
Whilst a number of Coady’s U17 team-mates have already made the step up to Noel Blake’s U19 squad this season, the midfielder has had to bide his time and be content with a place on the standby list, but with Blake also in charge of the U18s, this game gives him an opportunity to prove what he can do.
“Being on the standby list for the U19s earlier this season was a good thing for me; it shows that I’m still doing the right things and still getting noticed,” he added.
“Now it’s great to be in the U18s because we’ve got a lot of good players in this age group. I just want to keep pushing on now, with both Liverpool and England.”
* There have been four changes to the original squad. Jamal Blackman, George Thorne, Rob Hall and John Cofie have all withdrawn to be replaced by Jordan Pickford of Sunderland, George Moncur of West Ham, Pat Bamford of Nottingham Forest and Jake Fowler of Middlesbrough respectively.