Southampton midfielder Will Smallbone speaks about facing England in the UEFA Nations League

The international break is here and several Southampton players are preparing to represent their national teams this month. The UEFA Nations League will start in this international break and the England national team will face the Republic of Ireland in the first matchday. Star defender Kyle Walker Peters is also expected to feature for England in the two upcoming Nations League games.

Alongside him, Southampton midfielder Will Smallbone will also feature in this match as he will make his debut for the Republic of Ireland. The 24-year-old is coming on the back of a great individual and collective season, scoring six goals and providing three assists in 43 games in the Championship and achieving promotion to the Premier League. Speaking about facing England in his international debut, Smallbone said,

Southampton midfielder Will Smallbone speaks about facing England in the UEFA Nations League

"I just want to win the game. I’ve been in the Irish setup for quite some time and my full focus growing up has been always to play for Ireland. I look at it as a good game against a team that got to the European final recently."

- Will Smallbone

Smallbone admired England's recent performances in the UEFA Euro 2024, but, spoke about his ambition to win this big game. England will play their first match under interim manager, Lee Carsley, who will face his country in his first match with England. Carsley is expected to start a young lineup and can give playing time to Kyle Walker Peters, for his brilliant performance in the last season. 

Now, it remains to be seen whether Republic of Ireland will register a memorable performance against England in the Nations League. Meanwhile, new signing Maxwel Cornet has started his first team training and is hoping to give a great performance on his Southampton debut, when Russell Martin's side will face against Manchester United at the St. Mary's Stadium.