Freddie Woodman is returning to Newcastle United full of confidence after three successive clean sheets for his country.
The 18-year-old goalkeeper recorded a hat-trick of shut outs for England Under-19s as they finished top of their group to reach the European Championship Elite Round qualifiers this week in Macedonia.
The Young Lions had to overcome treacherously wet conditions in their first two matches to secure victories over the hosts and Finland before finishing with 0-0 draw against Italy on Tuesday, and Woodman was quick to praise those in front of him for the impressive defensive record.
“It’s always good keeping clean sheets and it’s nice that I haven’t conceded. But a lot of credit has to go to the defenders who have been playing in front of me,” he told TheFA.com.
'We know that if we keep clean sheets then we all back our strikers to get us goals at the other end'
Freddie Woodman on his defence
“We’ve been working well as a unit and we’ve been demanding good performances from each other and clean sheets, so I think that is where our good defensive record comes from. So it’s not just me keeping clean sheets, it’s all the other boys as well.
“We know that if we keep clean sheets then we all back our strikers to get us goals at the other end.”
The challenging conditions were something Woodman admits did cause him some concern, and he believes that in different circumstances the Young Lions could have progressed in even more thumping fashion.
“The conditions in the first two games were not ideal, and everyone who saw the games will agree that they both should have been called off. They were really hard to play in as our attackers were not able to run at their defence and get past them as the ball kept getting held up in the water," he said.
“We had to get on with it and just deal with the conditions. That’s the good thing about this group of lads, there was no whingeing or whining, we just rolled our sleeves up and went about getting the results.
'If a chance does come along and the gaffer needs me in the starting 11, I’ll be doing my very best to take it and show what I can do'
Freddie Woodman on his return to Newcastle
“The real worry for me playing in those conditions is not the physical side but more mental. I had to be alert and switched on to the fact that the ball could stick in a puddle or skip past me at any time, all this different things could have had happened and it was difficult. Something like that could have affected the games, especially as they were so stop-start. Any mistake and they could have been in.
“On any other day on a normal pitch, with the ability that this team has got, I think we would have won quite comfortably but it was a case of going in and getting the job done.”
Woodman joined League Two side Crawley Town in the summer and made his professional debut in August. He has gone on to register four clean sheets in 12 appearances for the side, but upon his return from international duty he will be reporting back to St. James’ Park rather than the Red Devils.
With first-choice goalkeeper Tim Krul suffering an injury while playing for Holland over the weekend and fellow shot-stopper Karl Darlow also ruled out, Newcastle manager Steve McClaren has called the youngster back to the club ahead of Sunday’s Premier League clash at home to Norwich City.
“That’s football and these things happen unfortunately for Tim and Karl,” added Woodman.
“I was playing football at Crawley and really enjoying it, and I can’t think the manager, fans and everyone at the club enough because they gave me my chance in the Football League.
“I’m delighted that I was able to get 12 games for them and now I’ve got to look at this as a positive for me. I know I’ll be number two but now after the experience I’ve gained, if a chance does come along and the gaffer needs me in the starting eleven, I’ll be doing my very best to take it and show what I can do.”
