Conor Coady has revealed he gets plenty of stick for his role at Euro 2020 but is happy to do whatever is asked of him if it brings England success at the World Cup.
The Everton defender – currently on loan from Wolves – was unofficially crowned England’s player of the tournament last summer as they lost on penalties to Italy in the final, despite not making a single appearance.
Assistant manager Steve Holland bestowed Coady with the honour for his spirit in and around the group and, even though the 29-year-old admits it sometimes makes him the butt of the jokes, he is ready to play whichever role is necessary in Qatar.
He said: “I get loads about the Euros and different things but it’s just the most exciting time in the world for everybody. A World Cup comes around every four years and it’s something that we all look forward to and I’m no different.
“I’m just lucky enough that I get to come and play with these fantastic players, I get to come and work under a fantastic manager and all his staff and enjoy every minute of it.
“What I always will say is that I’ll come up and give the best myself every single day – if I’m called upon, fantastic. I’ll be there to help as much as I can and then we’ll see where it goes.
“But we’re all here for one thing and that’s to do well is this World Cup to push our country as far as we can possibly go.”
If Coady is unsure of the role he has in the upcoming games, one man who will be integral to any England success is captain Harry Kane.
The Tottenham striker is just three goals away from becoming the country’s all-time leading male goalscorer.
When asked to name a few strikers who should be feared in the World Cup, Coady replied: “Of course, I can – the first one is Harry Kane.
“We are playing in the best competition in the world and I could sit here and go through absolutely everybody – (Lionel) Messi, Neymar, (Cristiano) Ronaldo, it is so hard to sit here and put a list of players down because it is the best competition in the world.
“At the same time, we are ready with what we are going to face because we have to be ready for all of these players.
“To get as far as we want to go, we are going to come up against the highest of high-quality opposition.”
