Levi Colwill’s amazing year shows few signs of slowing as the defender looks to make his England debut and prove his worth to Gareth Southgate with Euro 2024 on the horizon.
An impressive season-long loan with Brighton was followed by helping England Under-21s become European champions over the summer.
Colwill returned to Chelsea and was rewarded with an improved six-year deal, before going onto make his debut in their season opener.
The 20-year-old has been an ever-present under new Blues boss Mauricio Pochettino and his eye-catching displays earned a first formal England call-up.
“It has been an amazing year,” Colwill said.
“There have been a lot of ups and still been downs, and a load of stuff that I have had to overcome. But it’s all part of my career and you’re going to get that.
“A hundred per cent it’s all worth it in the end. You’ve got to keep working hard, that’s what I have done so far but now it’s about keep going.”
Colwill cited the initial lack of game time under Graham Potter and Brighton successor Roberto De Zerbi as examples of down moments he overcame.
But the success that followed on the south coast saw him brought in to train with the England senior squad in June, even travelling with them for the qualifier in Malta, before heading off on Under-21s duty.
“Coming and training in June was a big blessing,” Colwill said. “I enjoyed it so much and then obviously getting formally called up now is amazing.
“When I got the text I called dad straight away. I think he was getting emotional, to be honest. Dream come true.
“Everyone was so welcoming and it made a big difference for me.
“Now I have settled in a bit, I am ready to kick on and hopefully prepare for the upcoming week.”
Colwill is hoping to make his debut against Ukraine in Saturday’s Euro 2024 qualifier in Poland, or in the Hampden Park friendly against Scotland three days later.
The 20-year-old allayed fitness concerns ahead of that double-header after sitting out training on Tuesday, pointing to a tough previous week and the fact he is “a young boy still growing”.
Asked if making it into next summer’s Euros squad is a target, he said: “Of course. Playing for Chelsea – one of the biggest clubs in the world – it’s got to be my aim to hopefully be in the England team come the Euros.
“Obviously it’s still a long time until that comes so I’ve just got to keep working hard, pushing myself and let’s see what happens next.”
England have yet to mathematically seal qualification for Euro 2024, but it has long looked a case of when rather than if their place in Germany is wrapped up.
The uncapped Colwill already appears to have a strong chance of being involved – an opportunity that will only be bolstered by Chelsea boss Pochettino.
Adam Lallana, who the defender calls a key influence in his career, made his England debut at Southampton under the Argentinian, who his former Brighton team-mates had praised to the hilt.
Colwill took that on board when committing his future to Chelsea, where he is excited to develop under a manager with a fine track record of maximising English talent.
“I think the big thing for me was the first day I came in, him just putting an arm around me and showing me that he respects me as a person and also a player,” he said of Pochettino.
“That allows me to work my hardest and want to play my best for him.
“Just working under him in general, I know I’m going to improve. I can guarantee that because he’s such a good manager and he will push me. He won’t let me have any off days and that’s what I need.
“Someone like me, if someone lets me go to sleep I might just have a good day or a bad day. But I need someone there to give me that kick up my bum and say ‘keep going’ and that’s what he does.”
Europa Conference League: Aston Villa stunned by Olympiacos
Aston Villa were stunned by Olympiacos as they suffered a 4-2 home defeat in the Europa Conference League.
On what the Villa faithful hoped would be a famous night at Villa Park, they instead saw their team dispatched by their Greek opponents in the first leg of their semi-final encounter.
Ayoub El Kaabi scored a hat-trick for the visitors, who were 2-0 up inside 30 minutes on Thursday.
Ollie Watkins and Moussa Diaby struck either side of the interval to restore parity, but El Kaabi sealed his hat-trick from the penalty spot before Santiago Hezze added further gloss with a sensational finish. To add to Villa's misery, Douglas Luiz then missed a penalty late on.
In the other semi-final tie, Fiorentina took a 3-2 aggregate lead against Club Brugge.
M'Bala Nzola was Fiorentina's hero in stoppage time, scoring in the 91st minute to nudge the Serie A team ahead.
Hans Vanaken had scored from a penalty following a VAR check for handball in the 17th minute, cancelling out Riccardo Sottil's early opener, though Fiorentina restored their lead through Andrea Belotti before half-time in a frantic first half.
Thiago equalised for Brugge, but it was ultimately not enough.
Europa League: Wirtz and Andrich goals put Leverkusen on the brink, Marseille hold Atalanta
Bayer Leverkusen put one foot in the Europa League final as Florian Wirtz and Robert Andrich scored in Thursday's 2-0 semi-final first-leg win over Roma at the Stadio Olimpico.
Roma were masters of their own downfall as Wirtz opened the scoring after 28 minutes, Rick Karsdorp's horrible error allowing Alex Grimaldo to race into the area and tee up Wirtz to finish into an unguarded net.
Though Daniele De Rossi's hosts improved after the break, Andrich added a spectacular second with 73 minutes on the clock, the midfielder giving Mile Svilar no chance as he side-footed into the top-left corner from 25 yards out.
Roma should have pulled one back four minutes into stoppage time, but Tammy Abraham could only nod over from inside the six-yard box after a goalmouth scramble, and they now have it all to do in next week's second leg.
Leverkusen's unbeaten run for 2023-24 stands at 47 games across all competitions (39 wins, eight draws), and they are now overwhelming favourites to stamp their ticket to the final in Dublin.
The other semi-final tie remains in the balance at the halfway stage, with Atalanta being pegged back in a 1-1 draw with Marseille at the Stade Velodrome.
Having scored twice in La Dea's memorable win at Anfield in the last round, Gianluca Scamacca took in Teun Koopmeiners' pass before finishing low across goal 11 minutes in, but Gian Piero Gasperini's team couldn't hold on.
Chancel Mbemba was the unlikely goalscorer for Marseille, stepping out of defence to clip a 25-yard effort against the far post and in after 20 minutes.
Neither side could find a winner from there, meaning it's all to play for ahead of next week's return fixture at the Gewiss Stadium in Bergamo.
Orlando City v FC Cincinnati: Acosta hails visitors for absorbing punches
Luciano Acosta has hailed FC Cincinnati for coming through a testing period as they look to make it three straight wins in MLS play at Orlando City on Saturday.
After going unbeaten through their first six games of the season, Cincinnati suffered back-to-back 2-1 defeats against the New York Red Bulls and CF Montreal.
However, they have since bounced back with two wins over difficult opponents, seeing off Atlanta United and the Colorado Rapids by the same scoreline.
Acosta scored his 44th goal for Cincinnati – the most of any player in franchise history – in that latter game, and he believes their resilience has been key.
"I think it's just about our mentality," Acosta said. "We lost those two games and it was a bit of a punch that woke us up. But now it's about the mentality and getting back to it."
Head coach Pat Noonan said of Acosta: "I think what makes it more impressive is teams are going to try to prevent him from having an impact.
"When you're a key player and you're able to do what he's doing with the focus on stopping you in a lot of ways, that's what is unique."
Orlando, meanwhile, were beaten 2-1 by Toronto FC last week, halting their four-game unbeaten streak and dropping them to 13th in the Eastern Conference.
Forward Duncan McGuire felt the Lions should have taken maximum points from that game and is desperate to atone at Inter&Co Stadium.
"I definitely think we should've won," he said.
"I think how difficult this felt and how this feels for us right now is going to push us and motivate us to train hard all week, to get a win for the fans at home and get the job done."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Orlando City – Duncan McGuire
Maguire scored his fourth goal of the MLS season against Toronto last week – no other Orlando player has netted more than once in 2024.
Those goals have come from an expected goals (xG) figure of 2.7, with the United States international also attempting a team-high 27 shots this campaign.
FC Cincinnati – Luciano Acosta
Acosta has contributed to at least one goal in four straight MLS matches (one goal, three assists).
It is Acosta's fifth streak of four or more straight regular-season games with a goal contribution for Cincinnati, with Brandon Vazquez the only other player to achieve that feat for the team.
MATCH PREDICTION – ORLANDO CITY WIN
Orlando earned a win and a draw against Supporters' Shield winners Cincinnati last season, making them one of two teams (also the New England Revolution) to play Cincinnati twice in the 2023 regular season and not lose either match.
The Lions may just fancy their chances of another positive result against Noonan's men, who have only won one of their last three away games (one draw, one defeat).
Orlando have only lost two of their last 17 regular-season home matches dating back to last April, winning nine and drawing six, so viewers should expect a response to their loss last time out.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Orlando City – 49.3%
FC Cincinnati – 23.6%
Draw – 27.1%
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