Konsa looking to 'keep pushing' for World Cup dream
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The England defender has been speaking about his time under Thomas Tuchel and the togetherness in the Three Lions squad
WORLD CUP 26: HOME
The Aston Villa defender has become a mainstay in Tuchel’s squads over the course of the head coach’s first year in charge and with the FIFA World Cup 26 now in his sights next summer, the 28-year-old Londoner is grateful for the support he’s had from Tuchel.
"As a player you want the manager to have faith in you, put his trust in you and believe in you and I think Thomas has done that for me,” revealed Konsa, whose journey to the top saw him start out at Charlton Athletic before a move across the capital for one season at Brentford eventually saw him picked up by Villa and his rise to the Premier League was complete.
"Coming up in the leagues, it hasn't always been the easiest, I've had to bide my time and wait for my chance to come and I've always said that if my time comes, I'd always take my chance.
"I've managed to take it and hopefully now I can keep pushing on and keep doing what I'm doing.”
The UEFA EURO 2024 campaign in Germany was Konsa’s first taste of a major senior tournament with England, after previously picking up a FIFA U20 World Cup winners’ medal with the Young Lions in 2017 and lifting the Toulon Tournament title a year later.
And he’ll now be looking to cement his spot in Tuchel’s plans for the World Cup under a coach he describes as a ‘really good guy’.
"It’s not just for me, but for everyone,” he explained.
“He's just a really good guy off the field. He talks to everyone to make them feel comfortable, especially with the new guys who come in. We’ll have our meeting and he’ll make them all feel very welcome.
"I was only with Gareth [Southgate] for a year and I saw how much he wanted us to be a family and how much he wanted us to be together, especially at the EUROs with the amount of time that we spent together which was really good.
"It's the same with Thomas as well, he's big on creating a little family as well so it's really good.
"He's a very good manager and a very good person, so I've got a lot of respect for him.”
Having first been called into the senior squad by Gareth Southgate just over two years ago in November 2023, Konsa has quickly felt what it feels like to be a part of the group and how the team’s performances can help inspire and bring supporters across the country together.
"We know as footballers how much we can bring people together,” he said.
“We saw it last year at the EUROs after the win on penalties against Switzerland, looking on my phone afterwards and just seeing everyone together coming out to support us.
"Sometimes as footballers, you don't realise how powerful and how much [influence] you have over people.
“For me, when we play for our country and the pride and the joy that we bring to people, it's amazing and it's truly wonderful to see.”
England learnt their World Cup 26 group stage opponents will be Croatia, Panama and Ghana at last week's draw, with the fixture schedule now confirmed. Find out more details on the process for ticket applications here.
