Loftus-Cheek targeting World Cup place after impressive England debut

Young England star Ruben Loftus-Cheek is already looking ahead to next year's World Cup after excelling against Germany on his debut.

Published : Nov 11, 2017 09:28 IST

England midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek impressed in his international debut against Germany on Friday.
England midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek impressed in his international debut against Germany on Friday.
lightbox-info

England midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek impressed in his international debut against Germany on Friday.

Ruben Loftus-Cheek felt his England debut against Germany on Friday was a learning experience as he now targets a place in Gareth Southgate's World Cup squad.

The 21-year-old midfielder was among five Three Lions stars making their senior bow and he was arguably the pick of the bunch, collecting the man-of-the-match award after a scintillating display.

Having taken his chance following injuries to established stars Jordan Henderson and Dele Alli, Loftus-Cheek now plans to keep pushing in the hope of forcing Southgate's hand come next year's tournament in Russia.

READ: Pickford and Sane shine as England draws with Germany

"[The debut] could have been better - if we'd won, it would have been better," he told ITV . "But I'm really happy.

"It was a tough game against a good Germany side. I think it was a very tactical game. With the age in the squad, it was good for us young players. I certainly learned a lot in this game.

"[Southgate] hasn't said too much. He just said: 'Do your best like you normally do'. I had Gareth for three years in Under-21s, so it wasn't too much of a new thing coming here.

"The boys have been great. I've settled in really well and they've given me a platform to go out and play.

"To go to the World Cup, there's still a long season and I'm still looking to improve until the end of the season. There's a chance, but I have to keep learning and keep getting better."

 

Eric Dier - captain in Tottenham team-mate Harry Kane's absence - felt England could have won the game, with Jesse Lingard squandering a great late opportunity.

"I think we did well, obviously against a very well-oiled machine in Germany," he said. "They're going to have periods in the game where they control possession, but I felt they didn't really hurt us on any occasion when they did that.

"We also had periods where we controlled the game. We broke well on the counter-attack as well at times and we're actually disappointed we couldn't score."

Sign in to unlock all user benefits
  • Get notified on top games and events
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign up / manage to our newsletters with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early bird access to discounts & offers to our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide to our community guidelines for posting your comment