Teenager will use first England caps as inspiration for Peterborough United's Football League games
Peterborough United prospect James Dornelly will take the confidence boost of playing with best teenage footballers in the country into League One matches.
The 19 year-old right-back returned from international duty with England’s European Elite Under 20 League squad with a spring in his step after winning his first two England caps.
Dornelly was a late call-up to the squad, but made his England debut as a substitute in a 4-0 win over Germany at Chesterfield FC last Friday before starting a 1-1 draw in Poland on Tuesday.
"it was an honour to represent my country,” Dornelly enthused. “I had a great time with the squad and really enjoyed it while also learning so much. It was a bit awkward at first as everyone knew each other whereas it was my first time away from my club so it took time to bond, but I got there in the end and made some decent mates.
"You could see the quality in the squad from the first training session and they took it into the Germany game and smashed them 4-0. I was sat there watching and thinking ‘come on surely I can get on, my family are all in the stands’ and thankfully the manager gave me the nod. It was different to the football I am used to playing, but I felt I adjusted quite well.
"I didn’t find out until Monday that I was starting against Poland on Tuesday, but I took on board all the clips I was shown of what they expect from their full-backs. It was a great experience, but the game was tough as it was freezing and raining, and the pitch wasn’t great.
“There were about 2,000 fans there with vuvuzelas and stuff and we were 1-0 down at half-time, but we came out flying in the second-half, equalised quickly and we were unlucky not to win in the end.
"The whole experience was perfect timing for me. I stepped outside my comfort zone and showed what I was about. It was a big learning curve for me as well as a big confidence booster to take into the League One matches.”
Posh Academy graduate Dornelly has started 13 competitive matches for Posh this season, seven of them in League One. He will vy with on-loan Sheffield United full-back Sam Curtis for a start in Saturday’s League One clash with Reading at the Weston Homes Stadium.