It’s been a remarkable first England trip to Toulon for Young Lions defender Joe Worrall.
The Nottingham Forest centre-half has captained Neil Dewsnip’s side to four straight victories and into the final of the prestigious competition.
And after their convincing semi-final win over Scotland on Thursday, when a brace from Leicester City’s Harvey Barnes and a goal from Sunderland’s Elliot Embleton secured a 3-0 scoreline, the 20-year-old now wants England to finish the job by retaining the Toulon Tournament title in Saturday’s final against Ivory Coast.
“It’s a proud moment for me and the team, we played really well, kept a clean sheet and scored three really good goals, so we deserve to be in the final of the tournament,” said Worrall, who broke into the Forest first-team last season.
“I wouldn’t say it was easy, but I just thought we were better than them. We had more quality with the ball and defended really well.
“We need to go and win the tournament now. It’s alright getting to the final, but we want to go and win it.”
Worrall is one of the most experienced players in the group which made the trip to Provence for this year’s tournament, with Dewsnip’s mixed-aged squad catching the eye with their earlier wins over Angola, Cuba and Japan to top their group stage.
The former Dagenham & Redbridge loanee is among a number of players who are enjoying their first taste of life with an England squad.
And his leadership skills on and off the pitch were quickly noted by Dewsnip, who handed him the unique honour of the captain’s armband on his international debut.
“It’s a very proud moment for me and my family,” admits Worrall.
“I’ve always been a leader and a confident person, but because I’m quite old compared to some of the other guys, I try to look after them and put my arm around them and help them.
“I’ve played a lot of first-team football this season which put me in good stead to come here and captain England, which I didn’t think I’d do but of course I’m very proud to have done that.
“So to captain England is brilliant, it’ll give me more experience to go back to Forest and maybe get the armband there one day.
“It’s my first trip and it’s a few of the other guys’ first trip too, but we all know how football works, we’re all at good clubs and have good backgrounds so we all understand each other and we all want to win.
“It helps when you’re all on the same page as your team-mates.”
