Jack Collison is raring to go for Wales as they take on England in an Under-21 friendly on Thursday that promises to be anything but given the competitive rivalry between the teams.
While many of his club-mates are off on their summer breaks, the 19-year-old midfielder has joined up with Brian Flynn's side for the high-profile match in Wrexham. He will not be up against club-mate Mark Noble however, as the England player has withdrawn with hamstring and back problems that caused his late substitution in the 2-2 win against Aston Villa. Should all go well for Collison, he could then join up with the senior squad for friendlies against Iceland and the Netherlands on 28 May and 1 June respectively.
Wales have been making waves across Europe at U21 level this season - not least a 4-2 win against France last November - and Collison thinks the game will give a good indicator for their 2009 European Championship hopes. He said: "It is going to be a massive game and I think it will give us a chance to see where we are at. We have had some good results, obviously the outstanding one was against France, and are full of confidence." That optimism extends to his personal form after two goals in four U21 appearances to date.
"I know it is an end of season game but it won't feel like that," he added. "There is no chance of treating it like a friendly." Wales will use the game as a warm-up for their final two European qualifiers at home to Romania on 20 August before concluding their campaign with the return trip to the eastern European nation on 10 September. The Welsh have a four-point advantage on Romania, who have a game in hand, and France with only the section winners progressing to October's play-offs for the finals.