As the most-experienced player in the England Under-21s squad, Nathaniel Chalobah is hoping to make it third time lucky at next summer’s European Championship.
The Chelsea midfielder was part of the U21s squad at the finals in Israel in 2013 and Czech Republic in 2015 and has been a key member of the team who have sealed their place for the 2017 edition in Poland.
France v England
Under-21 International Match
7.45pm, Monday 14 November 2016
Stade Robert Bobin, Bondoufle
Live on BT Sport
With 34 caps for the U21s and 91 caps for the Young Lions in total, including appearances for the U16s, U17s, U19s and U20s, Chalobah knows he has a wealth of international know-how under his belt.
But the modest 21-year-old admits he isn’t counting his caps just yet, he just wants to keep adding to memories such as winning the U17 Euro title in 2010 and last summer’s Toulon success with the U21s.
“I don’t really pay attention to stuff like that, I just get told,” he said, following Thursday’s 3-2 victory over Italy in Southampton.
“But I suppose it’s a great achievement and I am proud. This is a really high level to be playing at for your country.
“Getting into the U21s is a great achievement on its own, no matter how many caps you get.
“As a group, though, we just want to keep moving forward and we all want to achieve bigger things: I don’t keep a count of how many games I have played, I just want to move forward.”
And things have started happening for Chalobah this season, as he’s become a valued member of the Chelsea first-team squad under Antonio Conte after a number of character-building loan spells over the last few years.
That was topped off by joining the England senior squad for training at St. George’s Park last week, when he scored a stunning goal to prompt a round of applause from his peers.
“I had a few messages about it,” he laughed.
“It’s nice to watch it again but it’s in the past now and I just have to keep moving on.
“I feel like I have made strides and I am happy that the manager has given me a chance.
“But, as always, I just want to keep focused. There is a bigger picture and, personally, there are targets a lot bigger than where I am at the minute.
“All I can do is keep working towards those targets and making it difficult for the manager every week.”
Following Thursday’s game in Southampton, the U21s will head across the Channel on Sunday ahead of their second match this week against France.
After 15 games without defeat, Aidy Boothroyd’s men know they will face another firm test in Bondoufle and whatever happens in the match, Chalobah sees it as another step in the preparations for 2017.
“Stats are stats [15 unbeaten], they don’t lie,” he added.
“But as a group we are trying to build towards the championships and we are trying to learn from different scenarios before we go to the tournament.
“Right now is making sure we get those experiences out of the way. We went behind against Italy but we got back and won the game at the end and that shows how resilient we are.”
