Every player wants the chance to compete on the biggest stage, and one Wolves player thinks his return to form could help him get there.
The international break is upon us and things are quieting down around Wolves. 17 players have left for national team duty, the most ever for the club.
But not everyone has the honour of representing their country.
One Englishman who has made his way back into contention under Vitor Pereira is hoping to keep up the good performances and attract the attention of Thomas Tuchel ahead of next summer’s competition.
Sam Johnstone wants an England return
Sam Johnstone has been warming the bench for much of the last two seasons, but he has made his way back into the line-up to replace the struggling Jose Sa.
Starting in net in Wolves’ last two league games, Johnstone has been impressive.
But the 32-year-old isn’t satisfied with winning minutes for his club. He, like every other prospective England player, has his sights set on a place in the World Cup squad next summer.
As he explains (via E&S): “Of course. That’s always on my mind. First and foremost, I had to get in the team here, then you have to perform, and then you have to get the games under your belt and keep performing.
“Then hopefully that comes again because every squad I’ve been in, I’ve loved going and representing my country. I think every English goalkeeper that’s playing, it’ll be on their mind for next summer.”
Johnstone is right in his assessment. Every English keeper will want to get one of those three spots, and there’s plenty of talent for him to contend with.
Johnstone will have to be outstanding to jump ahead of current England options
For this international break, Tuchel has picked Dean Henderson, Jordan Pickford and James Trafford to take for clashes with Wales and Latvia.
Of those three, only Pickford has more caps than Johnstone’s four, but there are other stoppers on the outside looking in as well.
Newcastle’s duo of Nick Pope and Aaron Ramsdale will be looking to do the same as the Wolves man.
Trafford has yet to get a cap for England, and the arrival of Gianluigi Donnarumma means he will likely struggle for minutes at the Etihad. The same can be said for Ramsdale, who’s second choice for Eddie Howe. So it feels like it could be a shootout with Pope to displace the young Man City keeper.
If Johnstone can stay in the side and put together a string of solid performances, a place in the tournament squad isn’t as far-fetched as it would have seemed just a few weeks ago.