Published 16 June 2021 2 min read
England Men's Senior Team
Ramsdale's emotional return
Goalkeeper explains his feelings after being called back into EURO 2020 squad
Aaron Ramsdale says he’s ‘devastated’ for fellow goalkeeper Dean Henderson after replacing the Manchester United man in the England squad.
Having originally missed the cut for the final 26-man squad, Ramsdale was called back into the squad on Tuesday following Henderson’s withdrawal owing to a hip injury.
The 23 year old now faces the prospect of making his senior debut for England at a major tournament but said his immediate reaction to the news was sympathy for his team-mate.
“It’s a surreal feeling but also tinged a little bit because the goalkeeping union is strong and I’m devastated for Dean,” Ramsdale told Adam Smith on The Official England Podcast.
“For him to get the opportunity to support this team taken away from him through injury is devastating for him, so I’ve got mixed emotions really.
“He’s been fantastic with me though and told me it was my time to go and help the team so I can’t give him enough credit.
“I didn’t think things would get much better than the camp in Middlesbrough and then being on the bench in my kit but it’s crazy how things work out.”
16 Jun 2021
11:38
England goalkeeper training
Watch Aaron and the rest of the Three Lions goalkeepers in training
Ramsdale made the bench for England’s 1-0 victory over Romania on 6 June as fellow keeper Sam Johnstone put in a great performance on his international debut.
And despite not being first choice, the Sheffield United goalkeeper says there’s still a level of satisfaction involved in watching his teammates put in good performances because of the close-knit relationship they have off the pitch.
“There’s times when we are on our own for an hour before we even join the rest of the squad and the basis of that is us preparing each other for the matches,” he said.
“There has to be that camaraderie because if my service wasn’t up to scratch then Sam and Jordan wouldn’t be getting what they need out of it - it’s all about helping each other.
“When Sam made his debut, and Jordan knew he wasn’t playing, he didn’t take his foot off the gas. Every day we pushed Sam and he had a fantastic game so you can take a little bit of pride out of that because you helped along the way.”
And despite not being first choice, the Sheffield United goalkeeper says there’s still a level of satisfaction involved in watching his teammates put in good performances because of the close-knit relationship they have off the pitch.
“There’s times when we are on our own for an hour before we even join the rest of the squad and the basis of that is us preparing each other for the matches,” he said.
“There has to be that camaraderie because if my service wasn’t up to scratch then Sam and Jordan wouldn’t be getting what they need out of it - it’s all about helping each other.
“When Sam made his debut, and Jordan knew he wasn’t playing, he didn’t take his foot off the gas. Every day we pushed Sam and he had a fantastic game so you can take a little bit of pride out of that because you helped along the way.”
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