The Leeds United goalkeeper represented his country for the first time at the Nordic Tournament last summer, but watched from afar as John Peacock’s side blitzed their First Round Euro qualifying group and participated in the St. George’s Park and Nike International tournaments.
But with regular squad member and shotstopper Paul Woolston pulling out of this week’s squad with an injury, Huffer was called up as the Newcastle United man’s replacement, and he is determined to impress if called upon for the upcoming games with Holland, Portugal and Germany.
England v Holland
The U17 Algarve Tournament
3.30pm, Friday 13 February
Estádio Municipal Bela Vista, Parchal
"I suppose it does give me an opportunity," he told TheFA.com at the team hotel in Albufeira.
"I’m feeling pretty good. It’s obviously nice being called up again, it’s a good reward for my hard work and the dedication I’ve put in this season."
Since his stint in Denmark with the Young Lions, Huffer believes he has improved his game in a number of ways – and explained he feels a lot more assured out on the pitch than he did six months ago.
"I’ve been trying to improve my game all round. There’s been a few things I’ve worked on and can feel improving," he said.
"I’ve definitely become more confident during games – especially with my starting positions and especially with the ball at my feet, I’ve improved a lot in that area.
"We’ve had a new goalkeeper coach at Leeds this season, and he has worked us quite hard which has helped me a lot – in particular the mental toughness side."
Simon Smith is Huffer’s goalkeeper coach whilst out in Portugal, and it’s a partnership the youngster knows well. The 16-year-old has been a regular at Smith’s England Goalkeeper Camps over the last year.
"That does really help you in preparing to come away with England," explained Huffer. "Knowing Simon, and the other goalkeeper that you are away with, it gives you someone to speak to which obviously helps massively.”
A number of other 'keepers have gone on to represent their country having attended the quarterly camps, with Freddie Woodman making his first international appearance of the season in this tournament last year before going on to establish himself as number one on the way to winning the European Championship in May.
Although he admits it would be a dream to follow Woodman’s path, Huffer is refusing to get ahead of himself – instead focusing on developing a winning mentality within the Algarve ahead of the Elites next month.
"That would be unbelievable to achieve something like that, but I’m just waiting to see how things go. I don’t want to look past this week at the moment – that’s what’s important," he added.
"We have three tough games, but the target is to win them all by playing well as a team. We all want to put in a good performance individually, and obviously I want a clean sheet if I’m selected, but as long as we win I’ll be happy.
"Developing a winning mentality within the squad would really help, especially with the Elites coming up. If we can get that right this week, then it will help us excel at future tournaments."
Huffer will be hoping to pull on his gloves for the Young Lions’ first game against the Netherlands on Friday, kicking-off 3.30pm. Follow @England on Twitter for match updates.
