World Cup excites Young

Villa star determined to make Capello's final cut

By Chris Burton   Last updated: 5th December 2009   Subscribe to RSS Feed

World Cup excites Young

Young: Dreaming of global glory

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Ashley Young is hoping to fulfil a childhood ambition by making England's 2010 World Cup squad.

The Aston Villa winger appears to be well on course to make the plane to South Africa, with a number of impressive outings at domestic level helping to keep him in Fabio Capello's thoughts.

There is still a long way to go before final decisions will be made, but continued involvement now suggests Young has as good a chance as anybody.

The reigning PFA Young Player of the Year certainly hopes that proves to be the case, with the 24-year-old playmaker admitting he has dreamt about gracing world football's biggest stage for as long as he can remember.

"It would be a boyhood dream," Young told skysports.com.

"As a boy you always want to play in the major tournaments and the World Cup is the biggest to be involved in. Hopefully I will make it and be on the plane come the end of the season."

While determined to strengthen his grip on his current standing within the squad, Young knows it is his performances for Villa which will ultimately make or break his season.

"The World Cup is extremely exciting, but you have to put it to the back of your head because it's still a long way away," he added.

"After we qualified everyone was delighted, but everyone is now back thinking about their club. As it gets nearer, that's when you will start thinking about it."

No fear

England will head to South Africa among the favourites to taste global glory, after receiving a favourable draw in the group stages, and Young sees no reason why the Three Lions cannot land the crown for a second time and bring an end to 44 years of underachievement.

"I don't think there is any team England want to avoid, I think it should be teams fearing England," he said when pressed as to how England will approach the tournament.

"There has been a lot said since Fabio Capello took over and how England look like a new team. The way we went about qualifying, the amount of wins and points we picked up, I think people will start talking about England more.

"I think if you look at how we went about qualifying, the teams we played against and how things have gone in friendlies, we always trust in ourselves.

"We have definitely got a good chance of winning."

Ashley Young is pictured holding the 2010 World Cup Ball designed and developed by adidas especially for the South African tournament. The 8 panelled ball is called 'Jabulani' which means 'to celebrate' and features 'Grip n Groove' technology to ensure true flight and perfect grip. The Jabulani is available to buy from all good stockists. Match Ball RRPŁ80, Replica Ball RRPŁ15. Visit adidas.com/football