15 June 2007
VIDEO EXCLUSIVE: David Nugent interview

After a goal against Italy on Thursday, David Nugent spoke to TheFA.com as he prepared for England's Serbian challenge.

England

v

Serbia

2007 UEFA European Under-21 Championship
De Goffert Stadion, Nijmegen
7.45pm (UK time), Sunday 17 June 2007
Live on Sky Sports

David Nugent believes that Thursday’s result against Italy has left England with a great chance of reaching the last four of the UEFA Under-21 Championship.

England will be looking to take maximum points from Serbia, who have already claimed a Semi-Final spot, when they meet in Nijmegen on Sunday.

Nugent says that the Azzurrini provided a very tough challenge in difficult conditions, but he was pleased to take a point - and get his name on the score sheet.

“Ashley Young was out wide and laid it back to Leighton Baines to put a great cross in and I had a little diving header into the bottom corner,” Nugent said.

“I hurt my hand in the process and I was in a bit of pain, but the joy when I scored was fantastic.

“It was end to end, a really entertaining game for the fans. It was disappointing we didn’t get the result in the end, but all in all I think a draw was a fair result.”

He added: “They came out in the second half and deserved what they got.

“Going forward they were excellent. In the second half we sat off them a bit. The stadium had no air, we could hardly breath it was really hot.

“It was the first time I’ve played in an indoor arena and it was a bit weird. We just needed a bit of fresh air, it was getting a bit hot out there.”

Having played their first two matches in Arnhem, England move to the De Goffert Stadion in Nijmegen for the game against Serbia and Nugent is confident England can get the result they need.

“They look good so far, they beat the Italians and looked really strong,” he told TheFA.com.

“The second game was a bit boring but they scored in the last minute which put them through. Hopefully now they’ll rest a few key players and we can capitalise on that and win the game.”

Away from matches, Nugent has been keeping himself busy in the games room, carving out a reputation as the team's top table tennis player. He’s also had a good run on the pool table and is now targeting James Milner’s darts crown.

“I think I’m the king of table tennis in the squad so far. I’ve just beaten Tayls [Steven Taylor] at pool too, but I’ve got to conquer the darts now, Milly’s the number one at darts.”

To watch the full interview with David, click on the link above.