Jordan Rossiter aiming for a campaign to remember

Thursday 03 Sep 2015
England Under-19s midfielder Jordan Rossiter
Having gone from the high of a debut goal to spending six months on the sidelines, a fighting-fit Jordan Rossiter has his eyes set on a World Cup journey to remember.

The Liverpool midfielder arrived in Gladbach on Wednesday along with his England Under-19s team-mates ahead of their double-header away to Germany and Croatia.

It will be the 18-year-old’s first international action for a year after ankle ligament damage required an operation that ruled him out for several months.

Now fully-recovered and back within the international set-up, Rossiter has his sights fixed on a successful year for both club and country.

England U19s' Euro trip

Germany v England
Friday 4 September 2015
BELKAW Arena, Bergisch Gladbach
Croatia v England
Monday 7 September 2015
Sveti Josip Radnik Stadion, Zagreb

“It’s good to be back – I haven’t won a cap in about a year now so it’s great to be back with the boys and I’m looking forward to the next few days,” he told TheFAcom.

“As soon as I knew about these fixtures, I always wanted to be involved in the squad.

"It’s an honour to get picked and everybody knows what sort of game England and Germany is no matter at what age-group.

“Both games are going to be a huge test for us ahead of starting our Euro qualifiers next month but all the lads want to do well.”

This year’s U19s, under the guidance of new head coach Aidy Boothroyd, have the added incentive of a World Cup to aim for in addition to the European Championship.

With the majority of the squad tasting success in the Euros at U17 level, Rossiter believes the "winning mentality" within the group can help them succeed again.

Jordan Rossiter

Jordan Rossiter's last cap was against Holland last September

“Aidy spoke to us earlier this week about how exciting the next two years could be for us," he added.

“Obviously we’ve got the Euros this year, and then if we do well enough we qualify for the World Cup in South Korea. 

"That had all the lads buzzing and excited and we are just ready to get going now.”

'Aidy spoke to us earlier this week about how exciting the next two years could be'

He continued: “Unfortunately, I wasn’t there through injury but all the lads were brilliant last summer in winning the Euros. 

"They just want to carry that on, as do the lads who weren’t there in Malta, and once you get that winning feeling you just want to do it again.

“It’s going to be interesting to see what happens. We are a very tight group of lads on and off the pitch and that team spirit can only help us going forward.”

Spirit and determination is something the Liverpudlian knows a lot about. 

“It’s been an up and down year for me," he admitted. 

"I made my debut last September and was in and around the first-team and felt that I was playing well. 

Jordan Rossiter celebrates his goal

Jordan Rossiter scored on his Liverpool debut against Middlesbrough

"But then I had a disappointing injury to my ankle ligaments which kept me out from January until July. It was tough but I just had to work hard and make sure I got back."

Having recovered from his setback, he joined Brendan Rodgers’ first-team squad for their tour of Asia and Australia prior to the season’s kick off.

And following on from his goalscoring debut against Middlesbrough in the League Cup last year, Rossiter made his Premier League debut when appearing off the bench against Arsenal last Monday.

After the faith shown in him by his manager at club level, the youngster is now coming into the England fold full of confidence.

'As soon as I knew about these fixtures, I always wanted to be involved'

“I’ve had a good pre-season and been working really hard to impress and luckily I managed to get my first Premier League appearance last week," he said.

“The gaffer is great at Liverpool and he is always giving youngsters a chance. 

"There were seven or eight of us that went away in pre-season with the first-team. You don’t see that as much with some other clubs but we know if we are doing things right on and off the pitch he is always willing to give us a chance.” 

Rossiter and his team-mates will face Germany on Friday 4 September.

From there, it is on to Zagreb where Croatia will play host to the second game of the trip at the Sveti Josip Radnik Stadion on Monday 7 September.

By Gary Stonehouse Staff Writer