Eddie Nketiah - England's next number 9? - video Dailymotion

England newbie Eddie Nketiah speaks about being picked by Gareth Southgate for the 2024 Euro Qualifiers

Transcript

00:00 Yeah, it's amazing. I think a really proud moment for me, my family and friends.

00:04 It's been quite the journey here, you know, a lot of ups and downs.

00:07 So I think this is obviously the pinnacle for an English player to get called up for a senior team.

00:11 So I'm really happy to be here and just looking forward to the weekend.

00:14 I've been here a few times, but it does feel different. It's that extra special, you know.

00:24 I think you're here, you're mixing obviously with great players, obviously with a great manager as well.

00:29 It's just that sense of pride to be here and, you know, progress through the age group is obviously a nice feeling.

00:34 I got home and thankfully all my family were at my house and one of my mates.

00:38 So obviously when I got the text it was surreal.

00:41 Obviously I'm usually a calm guy, but I did, you know, lose a bit of composure for a tad second.

00:46 That was an amazing moment. Obviously all my family were really emotional, like I said.

00:50 It's been a long journey, worked really hard to get up to this point.

00:52 So it's really nice to kind of have that step of recognition.

00:55 Yeah, he was buzzing. He was so happy for me and all the other boys at Colney and staff as well.

01:00 To be fair, he told me during the week he thinks I have a good chance of making the squad.

01:04 So, you know, we were singers crossed.

01:05 And when I had that call and obviously I was able to tell him the next day, he was really happy for me.

01:10 So like I said, it's great to be here and obviously be here with some familiar faces always helps.

01:14 Yeah, of course, I think it's a target for all of us here.

01:17 I think once you get here, you want to stay here and be here consistently.

01:20 So it's going to give me that extra motivation throughout the year.

01:23 You've got to focus on what's ahead, the games coming up and getting qualified first and then doing well for my club.

01:29 Naturally, those things will help me get to where I want to get to.

01:32 So obviously if I do the right things, hopefully I can be part of that.