Diego Poyet is planning to do his country proud as Uruguay prepare to kick-off their challenge at the FIFA U-20 World Cup finals in New Zealand
Diego Poyet is planning to do his country proud as Uruguay prepare to kick-off their challenge at the FIFA U-20 World Cup finals in New Zealand.
The West Ham United midfielder is part of the La Celeste squad which begin the tournament with a Group D clash with Serbia at Otago Stadium in Dunedin on Sunday afternoon.
The South Americans have spent the past ten days in New Zealand acclimatising and playing warm-up matches with Panama and Ukraine in preparation for the tournament, which will also see them tackle Mexico and Mali at the group stage.
Spanish-born Poyet, whose father Gus won the Copa America with Uruguay in 1995, is hoping to make his mark after committing to the country of his ancestors earlier this year.
The young player moved to Montevideo with his family as a young child before returning to England at the age of ten. Poyet came through the youth ranks at Charlton Athletic and was capped by England at U16 and U17 levels before opting to play for the nation his family still call home in February 2015, making his debut in France the following month.
“We've been training hard every day, it's been a good couple of weeks and the team is ready to start the tournament on Sunday,” Poyet told whufc.com.
“The group is really strong and we hope to start off with a good result, be it a win or a draw, and see where we go from there.
“It's been tough getting into the starting eleven due to the team already being formed during the season when I wasn't able to leave West Ham and play in the U-20 Copa America in January, but I am working hard and have played a part in every game preparing for the World Cup, either having started or coming on off the bench.
“The team is very positive and we hope to go a long way in the tournament.”
Uruguay will be hoping to go one better than they did in 2013, when they were defeated on penalties by France following a goalless draw in the final.
Selected matches from this year’s tournament will be screened live on British Eurosport and Eurosport 2.
The West Ham United midfielder is part of the La Celeste squad which begin the tournament with a Group D clash with Serbia at Otago Stadium in Dunedin on Sunday afternoon.
The South Americans have spent the past ten days in New Zealand acclimatising and playing warm-up matches with Panama and Ukraine in preparation for the tournament, which will also see them tackle Mexico and Mali at the group stage.
Spanish-born Poyet, whose father Gus won the Copa America with Uruguay in 1995, is hoping to make his mark after committing to the country of his ancestors earlier this year.
The young player moved to Montevideo with his family as a young child before returning to England at the age of ten. Poyet came through the youth ranks at Charlton Athletic and was capped by England at U16 and U17 levels before opting to play for the nation his family still call home in February 2015, making his debut in France the following month.
“We've been training hard every day, it's been a good couple of weeks and the team is ready to start the tournament on Sunday,” Poyet told whufc.com.
“The group is really strong and we hope to start off with a good result, be it a win or a draw, and see where we go from there.
“It's been tough getting into the starting eleven due to the team already being formed during the season when I wasn't able to leave West Ham and play in the U-20 Copa America in January, but I am working hard and have played a part in every game preparing for the World Cup, either having started or coming on off the bench.
“The team is very positive and we hope to go a long way in the tournament.”
Uruguay will be hoping to go one better than they did in 2013, when they were defeated on penalties by France following a goalless draw in the final.
Selected matches from this year’s tournament will be screened live on British Eurosport and Eurosport 2.