Dominic Solanke's World Cup memories

The 2010 FIFA World Cup immediately springs to mind when Dominic Solanke casts his mind back to his memories of following England as a child.

Ashley Cole, Steven Gerrard, John Terry, Frank Lampard and Wayne Rooney. It takes him back to South Africa and the Three Lions’ run to the knockout stages.

“I just enjoyed the whole culture around that – the songs and music,” he recalled. “That's probably the one that stands out the most.

“I remember watching the World Cup from young. When England are playing, the whole country is watching. I was watching it on the big screen at home, having friends over.

“I remember watching Rooney and Beckham when I was younger. I liked the passion that they gave towards the country and towards the tournaments.

“They wore their heart on their sleeve and that's the sort of thing you associate with World Cups because it’s the biggest tournament in the world and you love seeing players just go all out and just embrace it.”

A European and world champion with England, the Tottenham Hotspur forward went on to win the FIFA U20 World Cup with the Young Lions back in 2017, part of a squad that included the likes of Ezri Konsa, Dean Henderson and Dominic Calvert-Lewin.

“That was almost like a mini-World Cup that we managed to win when we were younger,” he explained. “That was really cool in the youth ages when you get the chance to play in a tournament like that. Tournament football is so fun, playing in big games, knockout games, semi-finals and finals.

“I won the best player, so I’ve got the trophy at home, which I like looking at every now and then.”

England, managed by Paul Simpson, went on to beat Venezuela in the final as Solanke finished the tournament as the standout performer on four goals – netting in both the quarter-final and semi-final.

“It was a bit surreal,” he said. “We were away for so long. It was in South Korea and we had a training camp before, so we ended up being away for about six weeks. It was tough being away from home but it was such a good experience.

“Going to the World Cup with so many teams, you don’t know if you're going to win it or not and then as you get further and further down with the tournament bracket, then we got to the quarter-finals and semi-finals, then it’s pressure to go on to win it.

“To actually win it at that moment, it was everything for us. It’s the biggest tournament for our age and to go on and win it, even to this day, it's one of my happiest memories.”

On the books of Chelsea at the time, it was a tournament that marked a turning point for Solanke, who completed a switch to Liverpool shortly after.

“It meant a lot,” he continued. “In that moment in my career, it was a difficult time for me because I was in my last year at Chelsea and I wasn't re-signing.

“It was a bit difficult because I wasn’t playing but that was my goal at the end of the season to go to the U20 World Cup and that was what was keeping me going that season.

“After that, when you win something like that, you just get all of the love and hunger back for the game.”