The armband might not have fitted but Ola Aina could not hide his delight at captaining the England U19s to an 8-0 victory over Luxembourg on Sunday.
With head coach Sean O’Driscoll naming Bryn Morris on the bench for the Young Lions’ second Euro qualifier, the Chelsea defender proudly led his country out at the Henri Dunant Stadium.
Southwark-born Aina said: “Sean said he made me captain because I’m a good talker on the pitch. He thought I’d be good for the team and I obviously jumped at the chance.
Luxembourg 0-8 England
UEFA U19 Championship
First Round Qualifying
Sunday 12 October
Henri Dunant Stadium, Luxembourg
“The armband was a bit loose, I don’t think my biceps are quite big enough yet! But to captain your country is an amazing feeling.
“I’ve always wanted to captain England so I’m buzzing.”
Three players – Brandon Barker, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Patrick Roberts – scored twice and the win was completed by Charlie Colkett, Aina’s club mate, and Middlesbrough striker Bradley Fewster.
Aina added: “Some games can get too easy and that’s when you start to get sloppy and maybe let teams back into it.
“We had to stay focused and aim for more goals to keep us sharp. We kept the ball and tried to create a chance every time we went forward and that’s what you need to do.
“Sean’s key message to us was that when we lose the ball we had to make sure we won it back. He doesn’t mind if we do lose it, he just wants us to have a good reaction as and when that happens.
“It will be a test for us, but I’m sure Belgium would say the same about facing us so I’m looking forward to it”
Ola Aina on final game against Belgium
“We had to do that a few times against Luxembourg but we did enough when we had the ball to get the win so we’ve got to be happy with that.”
With six points from their opening two matches, England have already qualified for the elite qualifying round – the final stage of Euro qualifying – where they will be joined by Belgium, who themselves can boast a 100 per cent record.
The two nations meet on Wednesday and with top spot up for grabs Aina said his side would be going all out for another three points.
He said: “Sean will want us to go out and get the win.
“He won’t want to settle for a draw or for us to just go through the motions. He wants the win and so do we.
“It will be a test for us, but I’m sure Belgium would say the same about facing us so I’m looking forward to it.”
