Conor Coady is hoping history will repeat itself after being appointed England’s captain for the FIFA U-20 World Cup.
The Liverpool midfielder was his country’s skipper when it won the European U-17 Championship back in 2010.
Manager Peter Taylor today handed him the armband for the forthcoming tournament in Turkey.
And Coady is eager to lead by example once again and guide the Young Lions to glory.
“To be captain at any tournament is fantastic, but to be England captain at the U-20 World Cup finals is superb. I couldn’t be happier at the minute,” he told FATV.
“I’d love to repeat [the 2010 win]. We’re focused going into the tournament. The team cannot wait for it. We’ll go and do the best we can.
“I feel like I’ve had a good season and I’ve really improved on my game and the things I wanted to improve on. So I just need to carry on in that way and keep improving.”
Reds fullback Jon Flanagan will join Coady in Taylor’s squad for the tournament.
Also in the set-up for the trip to Turkey are Everton’s Ross Barkley and Tottenham’s Harry Kane, as well as the man who fired a hat-trick for Manchester United against Liverpool in the Barclays U-21s Premier League semi-final, Larnell Cole.
Coady, therefore, is surrounded by familiar faces.
“We all know each other from playing against each other and all the lads are fantastic,” continued the skipper. “We’re all good mates and there’s a great team spirit in the camp. All the lads came over and shook my hand and gave me a hug when they found out I was captain.
“We’re all happy for each other here when someone plays and I’m really happy at the minute.”
England will get its campaign underway with a clash against Iran on June 23.
It will take on Chile three days later before finishing the group stage by facing Egypt on June 29.
Up until now the group has trained at various camps around England — and Coady is relishing the prospect of flying out to Turkey and getting the tournament started.
“The training camps have been fantastic and it’s been good to get to know the boys and get to know how we’re going to play,” he said. “But we just want to get out there now.
“We’ll be sweating a bit out there [due to the intense heat] but we can’t wait to get out there and start the tournament.”
Photo via LiverpoolFC.com
