 |
| Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is now a regular in Roy Hodgson's England squads |
IT MAY have been 10 months but Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain will meet up with his England colleagues at St George's Park today with a breezy smile, a handshake and no doubt a huge dollop of banter.
That is a far cry from what was on the menu the first time he was called up into Roy Hodgson's first squad for a double-header of friendlies against Norway and Belgium just before Euro 2012.
In those days, it was the Lowry Hotel in Manchester that provided the base for England internationals.
That latest rendezvous may have been old hat for Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard, John Terry, Ashley Cole and Wayne Rooney, 418 caps between them.
However, 18-year-old Oxlade-Chamberlain, newly arrived in the Arsenal first team, was somewhat in awe at the prospect.
"You struggle to eat your food," he recalls. "Your stomach is churning. You start putting things on your plate you don't even like eating just to make time to look around to assess the table plan, see where everybody is sitting and work out where is the best place to sit.
 |
| Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain made his international debut against Norway in May 2012 |
 |
| Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain now has 20 England caps |
"You don't want to be taking JT's seat on day one or Steven Gerrard to have a go at you for nicking his spot. There are all these things to think about.
"In all seriousness, though, it was relatively easy for me to integrate myself. They are a good group of lads so I can't say anything bad about them.
"But nowadays it would be a lot easier to integrate yourself. Even the senior players are a lot younger. So the new lads coming up will have played against them or even with them in an England under-18, under-19 or under-21 game.
"I don't think there are many things you could do wrong. It is very friendly and there are no set places. It's definitely the way to be."
Hodgson's squad for the games against San Marino on Saturday and Switzerland on Tuesday includes Swansea's Jonjo Shelvey, who has been away from the England scene for nearly three years, Jamie Vardy of Leicester and Burnley goalkeeper Tom Heaton, all still relative "newbies", having been welcomed into the nation's elite company for the first time as recently as June.
By contrast, Oxlade-Chamberlain is now so much part of the furniture that he is chosen to speak at events for Vauxhall, the England Team sponsor.
It is a rite of passage, and the 22-year-old makes no bones about the fact that everybody has to be prepared to raise their game if they want to "belong" as an international.
"When you first go to the England squad and know how good the England players are, the biggest challenge is to try to prove yourself to your team-mates," he says. "As soon as you know you have got the respect of your team-mates, you can really feel comfortable. Then you fit in the team a lot more easily.
"The time when I realised that maybe I did fit in was when Danny Welbeck and one of the older lads commented on something I had done during the season. They had watched my game. 'It was really good when you did that,' they'd say, 'when you took the man on in that situation'.
"That made me have some sort of belief that they rated me as a player."
And that self-confidence is vital, Oxlade-Chamberlain says, if, once established, a player is to thrive in the England goldfish bowl.
He himself is now the proud owner of 20 England caps, the last of which was earned against Scotland in November, before a series of frustrating injuries ruled him out of subsequent squads.
"When young players come into the squad they have to get used to that added pressure of playing for England," he said.
"Playing for England, you will come under criticism at some point. There are a lot of fans from different clubs who support England and they will always have their own opinions going through the season on whether you should be in the squad or not. These are the things you have to deal with.
"You are always told you have to believe in yourself, otherwise nobody else will. You can't go too far wrong with that."
Have you got what it takes to be The Last Fan Standing and win a brand new Vauxhall Corsa? Go to www.vauxhallfootball.co.uk for your chance to win.
Post a Comment Blogger Facebook Disqus