Liverpool starlet Lloyd Jones loving life with England

At 18 years of age and 6' 3" tall, Lloyd Jones has cut an imposing figure at the heart of the England defence during their opening two games in the Elite Qualifying Round for the UEFA European U19 Championships.

Since making his Three Lions debut in the U19s' 6-0 victory against Montenegro, the Liverpool defender followed his impressive debut with another composed display in the 2-1 win against Scotland 48 hours later.

And now Jones, who announced in October that he wished to represent England rather than Wales - for whom he played at U17 and U18 levels – says he is loving life as part of Noel Blake’s setup and striving to help the team qualify for Euro 2014.

"This is my first time away with the England side," he said.

"It took a while to get going because my transfer took about six months to sort out, but I’m glad to finally be here.

"The first two games have gone really well, but I’m just hoping we can win against Ukraine – that would obviously mean we qualify for the Finals and that’s something every single one of us is striving towards."

After two wins out of two, the Young Lions sit on top of Group 1 and go into Thursday’s game against Ukraine knowing a draw would be enough to ensure qualification for July's Finals in Hungary.

But after John Soutter’s second-half strike for Scotland opened the scoring just after half-time, England had a scare on matchday two – before Lewis Baker’s late brace turned the tie, and the group dynamic, back in England’s favour.

"The Scotland game was tough and more of a challenge than I expected," he added. "They were a good team, very organised and set up very well. But in the end we had too much for them. 

Jones has captained Liverpool's U21s aged just 18

"Even after we hit the woodwork three times, I still always felt we would get the goal because we have so much talent going forward and we are always making chances. 

"We showed great mental strength as a team to not panic and come back from behind and win – and we need to show that same resilience against Ukraine again because we all know they are going to give us a tough challenge.

"They’re only one win away from qualifying too so there’s everything to play for."

Jones, who signed for Liverpool from Plymouth in June 2011, spent most of his first season with the club’s U16s but made his U18s debut in the same campaign – aged just 15.

Since then, he has gone on to captain the Reds’ U21s side during the 2013-14 season, and has been named on the bench for the first team.

The Plymouth-born youngster also took time to praise manager Brendan Rodgers’ influence on the young players at the club, and says he has his sights set on ending the current season on a high – before kicking on with some big ambitions for next.

"We all want to be in the Finals in Hungary," he added. 

"We’re always expected to do well and to qualify for these tournaments – so we’re all striving and preparing to do everything we can to beat Ukraine. After the game we all go on a bit of a break so it would be a perfect end to the season. 

"My aims for next season are obviously be start off with winning the Euros in July – and qualify for the U20 World Cup, that’s a big part of all of our thinking.

"In terms of the club side of things, I’m really looking forward to the challenge of breaking into the first team and hopefully making my debut. 

"Brendan Rodgers is a great coach – being a former youth coach himself, he’s brilliant with all the young players, not just with me but with everyone.

"He’s brilliant. If you see him at Melwood he’ll always stop and talk to you and find out how you’re getting on – whether you’re in the first team or not. 

"So for a young player at the club that contact and interest from the man in charge of it all is really special and makes you feel welcome, and it always makes it easy to settle in if you’re coming in from another club perhaps."

England take on Ukraine at Burton Albion's Pirelli Stadium on Thursday 29 May at 3pm. Tickets are available on the gate and are priced at £3 for adults, £1.50 for concessions.