After winning the UEFA Europa Conference League, Ben Johnson is focused on adding another medal to his cabinet when England U21s head to his summer’s European Championships.
The full-back has been named in Lee Carsley’s squad, one that is littered with plenty of talent and top-flight experience for the young Three Lions to go all the way.
Johnson, who expects a stern test at this summer’s competition, is aware of the pressure that England have as they head to Georgia and Romania and is ready to lean on his experience of winning a trophy with West Ham earlier this month.
“With West Ham, we were confident going into the game, but we never felt like favourites,” he stated. “But here [with England U21s], the general feeling is that we are favourites, and we have to go out and perform and show that.
“We have got a bunch of players with experience of winning things, and we need to take that into the games and use that to our advantage.
“Seeing the seniors in the same corridors [at St Georges Park], it’s something you want to emulate. Gareth Southgate said congratulations on winning the Conference League. Hopefully one day I can integrate myself into the seniors.”
Just three weeks on from that triumph in Prague, Johnson and England start their campaign against the Czech Republic later today, with kick-off set for 5pm BST.
They will also take on Israel and Germany in their group games, with the top two teams in the group then progressing through to the quarter-finals.
“It’s an extremely tough opening game, which will test us,” Johnson added. “Israel being the U19s finalists and Germany being the holders [at U21s level] will be difficult too. It will give us a good feel of where we are at.
“Every game is going to be a good test for us to see the progression of the team in the last 18 months. But regardless of who is in our group, we are going to be confident that we can go through. We are here to win, that’s why we are here. That’s what are aiming to do. We are really excited to get going.
“With England, there is always going to be a good pool of players to pick from…but it is all about putting things together.”
