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Timing is everything at a mid-season World Cup. Okay, Callum Wilson, you have 30 seconds to tell us why you should go to Qatar.
“That’s a good…” the Newcastle striker begins, breathing. “We have incredible talent in the front positions. All you can do is get your name out there with performances like Saturday (two goals against Aston Villa for Gareth Southgate).
‘It helps if the manager comes to see you personally. It’s not just the goals you see in the headlines – it’s the assists, the delay, the movement. He actually gets to see it.
‘I’ve talked a lot about England. It was time for me to talk on the field. People ask me if I think I should be in the selection. When the performances are there, you will be selected. If not, then don’t. That’s all I can do.’
Callum Wilson has emerged as a strong contender for England’s squad for the 2022 World Cup
Wilson’s answer takes exactly 30 seconds. ‘There you go,’ he laughs, when he is informed of his precision. Timing, you see. Form-wise, there is no player in the country who emerges from the back of the pack with as much momentum as the 30-year-old.
Will it get him across the finish line and in turn on the starting blocks for the World Cup? Popular opinion would suggest yes. But Southgate’s may still be unpopular. And that, Wilson admits, is all that matters.
“The World Cup is definitely in my head,” says the man who won the last of his four international matches three years ago. “I scored and we won again over the weekend, just like the week before. It increases my chances. Then it’s up to the England manager.’
Wilson has six to nine this season, a goals-per-game ratio only surpassed by Harry Kane from an English perspective. “Two assists too, come on?” Wilson interrupts, as the conversation turns to his numbers.
The Coventry-born attacker is a confident soul, bubbly and captivating. Without such charm, he could probably be accused of arrogance. No player has championed their World Cup case more publicly in recent months than he has. But why not? It’s almost certainly his last chance, and lately at least his feet – and head – have done the talking for him, as he rightly says.
In Newcastle’s 4-0 win over Aston Villa, he scored twice for Gareth Southgate (centre)
Wilson has now scored six goals in nine Premier League games this season, including four in his last six – a ratio per game only improved by Three Lions skipper Harry Kane
Wilson was unaware that Southgate was in 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 towards the Three Lions boss. Not so?
‘He wishes!’ Wilson says, and he laughs again. ‘My children were there. Such small moments are special, they will remember them later.’
He had just converted a penalty and when the TV cameras shot to Southgate, he smiled. That may have had to do with Newcastle co-owner Amanda Staveley begging him to reserve a seat for her female player on the plane. Or, given the likely importance of spot kicks in Qatar, perhaps that was the motivation behind his grin.
Wilson’s reflections also reveal a level of preparation and assurance that should be noted by Southgate, the only England boss to ever win a penalty shootout at a World Cup, don’t forget.
“I just had to keep my cool, be clinical. I had done my research on the keeper. It was never in my mind that I would miss. If it puts a smile on his (Southgate’s) face, then hopefully I will continue to do so until the World Cup.
“But it wasn’t until I did an interview after the game that I realized the manager was there. Excellent. I had already introduced the performance, I couldn’t change anything.’
What Wilson wished 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 games, but just as the volume started to grow around an England recall, the sound of his popping hamstring made doubters clear their throats. His World Cup chances seemed impossible as he was given a month’s rest until September.
Wilson’s hopes for the World Cup have been derailed in recent years by gnawing injuries
“It was very frustrating and the timing was not ideal,” he says. “I had a set number of fixtures to impress. I haven’t been in the England lineup in a few years and I should always be doing more than others who have been on the squad. I had limited time.
“So if you know you’re going to miss a few games, you need to get off the ground as soon as you get back.”
Speaking of hitting the ground, England’s hopeful Tyrone Mings flattened him this weekend.
“I bounced from that challenge, and he’s a big boy. So I’m nice and robust now. My rehabilitation was not cut short.
“I knew, this time I had to be sure. I had to find form right away. Luckily I did. I scored on my return and didn’t look back.’
Newcastle under Eddie Howe doesn’t either, taking 16 points from 18 in October and climbing to fourth position. Can they stay there?
He is currently fit and sacked under ex-Bournemouth boss Eddie Howe, as the Magpies continue to impress, finishing fourth in the Premier League table
“I’ll let you speak about our chances for the top four. As players, we only influence what we can control.
“We play with confidence and with free-flowing football. But we also have to keep our feet on the ground. Saturday was a different challenge – can we go and win with a different kind of pressure where we are the favourites? We have taken up that challenge.’
The game ended with the sound of ‘Hey babe‘ is played in St James’, the song adapted on the terraces in honor of Wilson… ‘I wanna know, how you scored that goal’.
Southgate is said to have noticed the affection for a player whose confidence must be virtually unmatched at this point.
“I was surprised when the song came up,” Wilson says. ‘This place is incredible. When I first joined, it was lockdown. It was empty, it was creepy. I just longed for that first chance to score for the fans. There is no better place than to play here.’
Wilson won the last of his four caps in 2019 and has one goal for England to his name
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 Alan Shearer’s song too. So yeah, it’s so nice to hear my name in… I just love my football here.”
Given his absence, Wilson clearly appreciates what he has. But he wants to take us back to his time in Bournemouth with Howe, when he scored against the United States on his international debut.
“I always remember the manager saying to me, ‘You don’t realize what you’ve done until you retire’.”
He is silent, before adding: ‘I would love to play for England again.’
Wilson’s time is now, and his timing couldn’t be better.