'When England calls, you don't turn them down for a holiday'

The Newcastle United goalkeeper has been called up for England Under-18s’ double-header against Russia in Moscow.

And ahead of the squad meeting up this week, Woodman told NUFC.co.uk that he cannot wait for it.

"I've had to make sacrifices from day one when I moved up to Newcastle, and it's because I want to be a professional footballer, I want to play for Newcastle and I want to play for England.

"I'll make those sacrifices and I'll do what I have to do to become a goalkeeper in the Premier League. That's one of the sacrifices you have to make and my friends and my family understand that.

"When your country calls, you're not going to turn them down for a holiday. It's always an honour to be called up for England to play at any level,” he said.

Woodman, who won the U17s European Championship with the Young Lions a year ago, has already represented England at U19s level this campaign.

Although he is only 18 years of age, his experience of playing on the international stage has made him feel one of the “senior” members of the squad.

"I do feel like I'm a senior player when I go away with England, even though we're still the same age,” he said.

"This will be my 25th game for England at youth level and this season, being on the bench for the first team has been good. I've learnt a lot from experiences that have happened to the team and that have happened to Tim [Krul].

"I've seen how he deals with situations and I feel like I've learnt a lot this season just through being on the bench for 20 games."

A trip to Moscow should provide Woodman and his team-mates with another opportunity to gain valuable experience, and the young shotstopper is hoping it can help springboard the squad onto repeating their Euro glory next year. 

"It should be good - it's an experience to go out to Moscow and play two games against a strong Russian side. And it's nice to drop back to the team who won the Euros and get ready for next season with the U19s - and try and win that one."