I’m doing all I can to make it to World Cup
CALLUM WILSON hopes hot streak will seal spot in Southgate’s squad
TIMING is everything with a mid- season World Cup. OK then, Callum Wilson, you have 30 seconds to tell us why you should be going to Qatar.
‘That’s a good one…’ begins the Newcastle striker, drawing breath. ‘We have unbelievable talent in the forward positions. All you can do is put your name forward with performances like Saturday (two goals against Aston Villa in front of Gareth Southgate).
‘ It helps when the manager comes to watch you in person. It’s not just the goals you see in the headlines — it’s the assists, hold-up play, movement. He gets to see that in the flesh.
‘ I have spoken a lot about England. It was time for me to talk on the pitch. People ask me if I think I should be in the squad. If the performances are there, then you’ll be selected. If not, then you won’t. That’s all I can do.’
Wilson’s answer takes exactly 30 seconds to deliver. ‘There you go,’ he laughs. Timing, you see. On form, there is no player in the country emerging with as much momentum as the 30-year-old.
Will it take him over the finish line and on to the starting blocks for the World Cup? Popular opinion would suggest yes. But Southgate’s opinion could yet be an unpopular one.
‘The World Cup is on my mind, for sure,’ says the man who won the last of his four caps three years ago. ‘I scored and we won again at the weekend, the same as the week before. It improves my chances. After that, it’s down to the England manager.’
Wilson has six from nine this season, a goals-per-game ratio only bettered by Harry Kane from an English perspective. ‘Two assists as well, come on!’ interrupts Wilson.
The Coventry-born forward is a confident soul, bubbly and engaging. Without such charm, he could be accused of arrogance. No player has publicly championed their World Cup cause more than him in recent months.
But why shouldn’t he? It is almost certainly his last chance and, of late, at least his feet — and head — have done the talking for him. Wilson did not know Southgate was at St James’ Park during the 4-0 win over Villa. Funny, because when he blew a kiss towards the stands after his first goal, it was in the direction of the Three Lions boss. Not so?
‘He wishes!’ laughs Wilson. ‘My kids were there. Little moments like that are special, they’ll remember them when they grow up.’
He had just converted a penalty, and when the TV cameras cut to Southgate, the England boss was smiling. That may have been to do with Newcastle co-owner Amanda Staveley imploring him to reserve a seat for her player on the plane. Or perhaps the likely importance of spot-kicks in Qatar was behind Southgate’s grin.
Wilson’s reflections reveal a level of preparation and certainty that should be noted by Southgate, the only England boss ever to win a penalty shootout at a World Cup.
‘I just had to keep my composure, be clinical,’ he says. ‘I’d done my research on the goalkeeper. It was never in my mind I was going to miss.
‘ If it puts a smile on his (Southgate’s) face, hopefully I’ll keep doing that until the World Cup. But only in my interview after the game did I realise the manager was there. Great.’
What Wilson wishes he could change is an injury record that has robbed him of games — and goals — for club and country. He started this season with two in three matches but then the sound of his hamstring popping had the doubters clearing their throats. His World Cup chances appeared slim when facing a month-long lay-off through September.
‘It was very frustrating and the timing wasn’t ideal,’ says Wilson. ‘I had a set number of fixtures to impress. I haven’t been in the England set-up for a few years and
I was always going to have to do more than others. I had limited time. So, when you know you’re going to miss a few games, you have to hit the ground running as soon as you come back.’
Speaking of hitting the ground, fellow England hopeful Tyrone Mings flattened him on Saturday. ‘I bounced up from that challenge, and he’s a big guy,’ says Wilson.
‘I’m nice and robust now. No corners were cut with my rehab. I knew, this time, I had to be sure. I had to find form straight away. I’ve done that. I scored on my return and haven’t looked back.’
Neither have Newcastle under Eddie Howe, taking 16 points from 18 during October and climbing to fourth in the Premier League. Can they stay there?
‘I’ll let you guys do the talking on our chances of the top four,’ says Wilson. ‘As players, we can only affect what we can control. We’re playing with confidence and with free-flowing football. But we also need to keep our feet on the ground. Saturday was a different challenge — could we go and win with a different type of pressure where we’re the favourites? We rose to that challenge.’
The game ended to the sound of Hey Baby being played inside St James’, the song adapted on the terraces for Wilson: ‘I wanna know, how you scored that goal.’
Southgate would have observed the affection for a player whose confidence must be just about unrivalled right now.
‘I was taken aback when the song came on,’ says Wilson. ‘This place is unbelievable. When I joined, it was lockdown. It was empty, eerie. I was craving that first opportunity to score in front of the fans. There is no better place than playing here.’ Does he ever sing the supporter accolade?
‘My kids sing it to me in the car. We sang it on the way home. It’s a song I heard as a kid and it was also Alan Shearer’s song. It’s so nice to hear with my name in. I just love my football here.’
Given his absences, Wilson appreciates what he has. But he wants to take us back to his time at Bournemouth with Howe, when he scored against the United States on his international debut.
‘I always remember the manager saying, “You won’t realise what you have done until you retire”.’ He tails off, before adding: ‘I would love to play for England again.’
Wilson’s time is now, and his timing could not be better.