Young Lions duo revelling in 'club England' environment

Few could forgive Everton youngsters Tom Davies and James Yates for pinching themselves when they wake on Thursday morning.

The duo will be flying to Chile for the FIFA World Cup along with their England Under-17s team-mates later that afternoon, but for the 17-year-olds the adventure has already begun.

They met up with Neil Dewsnip’s squad on Sunday and have been preparing for their South American quest at St. George’s Park alongside Roy Hodgson’s senior squad.

And for Davies he was granted a closer look than most at how the Three Lions operate on Wednesday.

“I came down from my breakfast when the lads told me that Neil wanted to speak with me. I went and found him and he just told me that later on I’d be training with the seniors – it was totally unexpected,” he told TheFA.com.

“It was a real thrill for me and I couldn’t wait to get going. I was a bit nervous though, just thinking who I would be training with and whether I could cope with it, but I didn’t have too much time to think about. That was quite good for me as I didn’t really get chance to let the nerves sink in.”

Any nerves he did have quickly disappeared when a familiar face was on hand to help, so much so that Davies was able to finish twice past Jack Butland in shooting practice.

“The squad were really good with me and [Everton team-mate] Ross Barkley helped me a lot. He walked out and went through the warm-up with me, so he just generally looked after me, which was really nice.

“I even managed to score twice. I had Raheem Sterling and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain attacking with me, which was unbelievable as they are both top players.”

Phil Jagielka and James Milner gave advice to the U17s on Tuesday

Davies’ involvement in training was not the only chance the Young Lions had to mingle with the Hodgson’s men.

On Tuesday evening James Milner and Everton captain Phil Jagielka joined the U17s for a discussion on their careers and offered their encouragement and advice to the group ahead of the World Cup.

And it was an opportunity Davies’s club and international team-mate James Yates will not forget in a hurry.

“It was invaluable to all of us. They’ve had so much experience and it was great for us to have the chance to pick their minds and pick up some tips from them on how to approach the tournament,” said Yates.

“Usually it’s us lot sat at home cheering them on, so for them to come in and be so humble and really wishing us the best was fantastic.

“It didn’t feel like they were different from us, it felt like we were all part of England.

“I think that they genuinely want us to go and do the best we can and that has made us all feel really special and that we are all one team when it comes to England.

“As a defender myself, it was great to have my club captain in there and he is someone who I definitely look up to.

“His career path has not been an easy one. He has had to really work hard and wait for his chance.”

England U17s right-back James Yates, centre

And apart from meeting one of his heroes, some words of advice from his idol hit home with the young right-back.

“I think the thing that will stick with me most was from Phil Jagielka, who just told us to enjoy every second of it because it can go so quickly. It might sound simple, but I think that is the most important thing about football.

“Even if you are not involved in the starting line up at the start, you need to be there for your team-mates who are and support them. You have to relish every moment of being involved and if you can’t enjoy being involved in a World Cup for England then you may as well not play the game.”

Davies added: “It’s great to have involvement with the seniors. For me getting to see how they train and then the talk we received from Jagielka and Milner – it has given us a really good insight into what it takes to become a top player for England.

“We just can’t wait to get out to Chile now and test ourselves against the best in the world and try to do the country proud.”