It’s not often that you can have a foot in both camps in international football, but England Under-21s defender Carl Jenkinson comes as near as possible to experiencing that on Thursday night.
The Arsenal man is in Gareth Southgate’s squad to face Finland in Milton Keynes, but there’s every chance he could have been lining up against the Three Lions this week.
After featuring for England U17s in 2008, Essex-born Jenkinson then went on to play for Finland at both U19 and Under-21 level for who he qualifies due to his Finnish mother.
But it was only after changing his international allegiance back to England last year that he has been able to represent the Three Lions again at both senior and Under-21 level.
Speaking to TheFA.com at the squad’s base in Bedfordshire, Jenkinson admitted: “It will be strange for me, but I know it’s a game that we can’t take lightly because they have some talented players.
“They are a very hard working side and I know they’ll be more than up for playing against England.
“It will be a massive game for them and they’ll see it as an opportunity to impress, so we’ve got to be cautious of that and have got to be on our mettle if we want to come out on top.”
After spending the week so far preparing for the game, England are well versed in what to expect from their visitors on Thursday night.
And in Jenkinson, Southgate has an additional spy in the camp, with the right-back having worked under Finland boss Mika Laurikainen and a few of their players in the past.
“Confidence is high, we’re coming off the back of two good results and it’s just important that we take that into the Finland game.”
Carl Jenkinson England U21s
“I know quite a few of their lads from the other age groups and played with them quite a few times and I know the manager fairly well,” he revealed.
“The manager is one of the best coaches that I’ve worked under in my career so far.
“He did a lot for me when I first went over as an English lad to play for the Finnish national team and he made sure I understood what was going on and making sure all the points he made, I understood.
“He always went out of his way to make me feel comfortable and accepted as such, but he was also a fantastic coach so it will be nice to see him again.”
Jenkinson believes England are approaching this game in the right frame of mind too as they look to extend their lead at the top of qualifying group one.
After a confidence-boosting 5-0 victory over Lithuania last month, he says the level of training has been impressive as the squad begin to push themselves into Southgate’s mind for selection.
“Training’s been really good so far, everyone looks sharp and we’re looking forward to the first game,” added the former Charlton Athletic youngster.
“It’ll be an important game in the group and we’ve prepared well for it, so we’re hoping that we can go and get the result that we want.
“Confidence is high, we’re coming off the back of two good results and it’s just important that we take that into the Finland game and then into San Marino after that.”
Watch the full interview with Carl in the video player above.
