Seth Ridgeon previews 'hugely exciting' U17 World Cup

England men’s under-18s star Seth Ridgeon is ready and raring to go ahead of this month’s FIFA U17 World Cup.

The teenager, who captained the Young Lions at the 2025 UEFA U17 EURO Finals in the summer, was named in Neil Ryan’s squad for the 48-team tournament.

Ahead of England’s opener against Venezuela on Tuesday 4 November (3.15pm GMT), we caught up with the Fulham midfielder after Ryan’s team touched down in Qatar.

You've been in Qatar for a few days now. How is everyone settling in?

It’s been good. We got here on Wednesday evening. The lads all got into the hotel and settled down instantly.

We had our first training session last night, which was us getting used to the play, used to the time zone, our new surroundings and most importantly getting prepped for our first game against Venezuela.

What is your base like? Have you all had a bit of an explore of the facilities and worked out how you can make the most of it if you have any downtime?

Our base is great. We’ve got our own floor in the hotel which was set up on our arrival by the staff.

We’ve got recovery stations, fuel stations, a great team room with loads of different activities to keep us entertained but also unwind when we can. It’s a good compact area for us and an even better way for us to bond as a team.

How did you feel when you got the call-up? It must be something of a dream to be playing in a World Cup at your age group.

One hundred percent. It was a great feeling – a very proud moment for me, my family and my club. As a World Cup, it’s something you dream off, it’s the biggest tournament at any age.

And as it’s the U17 World Cup, it’s probably the biggest tournament you’ll play in [at] academy football. It’s a really nice occasion to be a part of and we’re all excited to see how far we go.

This will be a new experience for everyone, especially with the way the tournament schedule works. Do you think you'll try and watch the other games when you aren't playing or training?

In a World Cup, you get loads of different teams with different playing styles. I think it’s important to understand how other teams work, but it’s mainly focusing on ourselves.

If we have time to go and watch or see any football from other teams, it would be good to do that, but if not, it’s just focusing on myself and preparing how we like to prepare.

You've had some good games in preparation for the World Cup with the trip to Spain in September and then two games against France at St. George’s Park. How has that helped the group with what you might face in Qatar?

I think it’s massively important. We played the Asian champions and the African champions in September, being Uzbekistan and Morocco, with two confident wins against them. I think those would just help us develop as a team and be ready to face any side with any type of opposition that we’ve played.

Also playing France recently, who were the EURO finalists in the summer, managing to get a draw and a win against them, which was a big boost for us.

It shows how far we’ve come, and all that preparation will definitely help us go out there, play with confidence, and try to go as far as we can in the tournament.

First up is Venezuela, of course. You have Alejandro Rodriguez in the squad who might know a bit about them too?

Ale’s got connections with Venezuela since he’s from there, but he’s fully focused on us. He’s a massive player for the team, and his only goal is to help us play well and get the win.

What are your ambitions for the tournament, now that you're there and can really feel the buzz and excitement around the place?

Going to this tournament is hugely exciting and I think if we set our standards for anything less than the final, if not going all the way, we're not going in with the right mindset.

I think the expectation for us is to win every game we play and doing that being going all the way.

Click here to read article