Cahill keeps up with the Joneses

08 October 2011 13:38
Gary Cahill hailed the impact of teenager Phil Jones on his England debut against Montenegro as he helped Fabio Capello's side reach Euro 2012.[LNB] Jones made the £17million move from Blackburn to Manchester United in the summer and quickly established himself as a regular centre-back at Old Trafford.[LNB]Injuries to Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic at West Brom on the opening day gave him his initial chance - and he has not looked back since.[LNB]He earned his first England call-up last month for the games with Bulgaria and Wales but got his playing breakthrough in Podgorica at right-back and looked equally at home.[LNB]A 2-2 draw was sufficient to seal England's place at the top of their group despite the sending-off of Wayne Rooney thanks to goals from Darren Bent and Ashley Young.[LNB]Cahill, who played inside Jones at centre-half, said: "I thought Phil did really well, he got forward when he could, he defended well in really difficult circumstances.[LNB]"It was a hard game for him to get his first cap. It was a big game and conditions didn't help him.[LNB]"But he has already looked at home with Manchester United this season since moving there.[LNB]"He did really well in Montenegro. He really stood up to the task and seeing youngsters coming through and doing well is great for England.[LNB]"I think we are in really good shape. We've got young players coming through now with a blend of experience as well.[LNB]"That will stand us in good stead for the tournament and a couple more games before we get there. I think we will do really well."[LNB]Cahill accepts Rooney's absence through suspension for at least the opening game of Euro 2012 will be a big blow to England's hopes.[LNB]But he praised the way England dealt with his departure against Montenegro, who have qualified for the play-offs as runners-up in the group.[LNB]He said: "It will be a massive blow with the talent Wayne has. He is phenomenal. It is going to be a big blow at the finals.[LNB]"Going down to 10 men was tough but the main thing was we got the job done in difficult circumstances.[LNB]"When something like that happens, you've got to deal with it and carry on and that's what we did.[LNB]"I hope everyone sees it as a job done. We've done terrifically well to get to the tournament and we are looking forward to it now."[LNB]Skipper John Terry hopes England can learn the lessons of the 2010 World Cup finals in South Africa.[LNB]Having been built-up prior to the tournament, England limped through the group stage before being sent packing by Germany.[LNB]He said: "I think we always can challenge. We clearly have to learn from where we went wrong in South Africa.[LNB]"It doesn't give us the God-given right to go out there, just because we've changed things, to win it.[LNB]"We still need to put in the hard work on the training field and the matches in the meantime."

Source: Team_Talk