Pope Closing In On Wembley Dream

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Clarets keeper hoping to fulfil ambition with England call

2020-10-07T14:22:10.900Z

Pope Closing In On Wembley Dream

Clarets keeper hoping to fulfil ambition with England call

2020-10-07T14:22:10.900Z

Clarets keeper hoping to fulfil ambition with England call

Nick Pope hopes he can realise a Wembley dream by winning his third England cap.

Pope is in Gareth Southgate’s squad for three games at the home of English football – starting with a friendly against Wales on Thursday night.

And the Clarets’ goalkeeper is firmly in the frame to feature and make a first Wembley appearance after a number of near misses down the years.

“I’ve never played there,” said Pope.

“I’ve been to a (play-off) semi-final with York City and when Tottenham played there for two years I was injured and the other year I didn’t play either.

“And my two England caps haven’t been there, so it’s something that’s always just eluded me so far.

“If I got the opportunity over the next three games to play at Wembley it would be a massive thing for myself and something I’ve always looked to do.”

Meanwhile, Clarets' winger Dwight McNeil won his fourth England Under-21 cap, starting and playing for 75 minutes as Aidy Boothroyd's side drew 3-3 in Andorra.

The result means England must wait until next Tuesday night's qualifier at home to Turkey to get the points they need to guarantee qualification for the finals of the U21 European Championships next summer.

Pope Closing In On Wembley Dream - Image 1

Pope made his first England appearance as a substitute at Elland Road in a 2018 World Cup warm-up and then made his full international debut in a Euro 2020 qualifier in Kosovo last November.

The 28-year-old has been on the bench for England at Wembley and was also an unused substitute when the Clarets drew 1-1 with Tottenham in August, 2017 – less than a month before he came into the starting line-up to stake his claim as Burnley’s number-one.

In December, 2018 injury then forced him to miss a 1-0 loss at Spurs when Joe Hart started for Sean Dyche’s men.

But Pope’s long wait could now be nearly over as he looks to get the nod over Jordan Pickford and Dean Henderson to face the Welsh and fulfil an ambition ahead of Nations League qualifiers against Belgium and Denmark.

“When you’re watching England games, growing up, they’re always at Wembley,” Pope added.

“You watch cup finals and they’re at Wembley and my team, Ipswich, got to the play-off final in 2000 and you go to Wembley.

“It’s just an iconic stadium in the world. If I get the opportunity to play, it will be right up there for me.”