Chilwell Hails International Experience With England U21s
- Ben Chilwell believes playing for England Under-21s has given him the chance to impress on the international stage
- The Leicester City defender completed 90 minutes against the Netherlands on Friday night
- Chilwell says he is enjoying the healthy competition with fellow Foxes left back Christian Fuchs
Everton’s Dominic Calvert-Lewin opened the scoring in the first period, but the hosts were level shortly after through PSV midfielder Bart Ramselaar, as Aidy Boothroyd’s side opened their qualification campaign for the 2019 tournament.
Chilwell was part of the Young Lions outfit that reached the semi-finals of the U21 European Championships in the summer and believes further involvement will be of great benefit to his development.
“You’ve got players who play week-in week-out for their clubs,” said Chilwell after playing 90 minutes at the Stadion De Vijverberg in Doetinchem.
“For the players who aren’t playing, this is your chance in front of all the scouts, managers and staff at your club who want to see what you can do not just in training.
“Especially for the players who aren’t playing like myself, coming away to international games is massive. It’s our platform to show what we can try and do to get in the team.
“For myself it’s my last major tournament for the youth England set-up. In two years’ time, depending on if we get there which we should do, it’s my last tournament and I want to go out with winning it.
“I 100 per cent think we can with this squad. I’ve said before they’ve won a lot, we were close to winning something in the summer. We’re a really talented group and once we click, I’m 100 per cent confident we could go on and win it.”
Chilwell went on to discuss the healthy competition he has at club level with experienced Foxes left back Christian Fuchs, who earned 78 caps for Austria before retiring from the international scene in 2016.
“Every day in training I work hard and give it my best,” said Chilwell. “I’d like to think I’m pushing Fuchs and Fuchs is obviously pushing hard to keep me out of the team as well.
“It’s a healthy thing. It’s making us both work harder which I think, to be honest, is quite healthy in a changing room, players pushing each other.
“He looks after me a lot. He’s always trying to help me out in training. When I play and he’s played at centre-back he’s always telling me how well I’ve done after matches.”
Many of the players in the current England Under-21s set-up helped the Under-20s win the U20 World Cup in the summer and Chilwell feels his presence this international break will be beneficial for both himself and the younger members of the squad.
He added: “It’s quite a new squad. We’re all still trying to get used to each other. Obviously a lot of them have played together in the U20 World Cup.
“They’re a very talented group. It was a qualifier and we wanted and needed to win the match. We’re still at that stage where we’re trying to get used to each other in the group.
“Last year I was one of the youngsters that was looking up to the older boys like Redders (Nathan Redmond), Nate (Nathaniel Chalobah) and Prowsey (James Ward-Prowse).
“Now I feel like one of the older boys who has to try and guide some of these boys, even though they are World Cup winners.
“I had Ade (Ademola Lookman) in front of me, who is obviously a young boy and did well. I feel like I’m trying to guide players around me, as well as trying to do well myself.”
Chilwell could be in action for England again on Tuesday, when they host Latvia in another European Championship qualifier at Bournemouth's Vitality Stadium.