‘This was one of my bucket-list things’

The tournament is being staged in England and kicks off at United’s home on 7 July next year.

“It’s funny really,” he told us. “My first major tournament, as a player, was Euro 96 – and that was in England. I was 19, I was young and I didn’t manage to get on the field, but it probably had the biggest influence on me as a player in terms of international football.

“It was the very first time I realised what football meant to the people of England. As a footballer, you’re sometimes cocooned in your own little world, locked behind the security network. If you’re the manager or the players, security surrounds the team and you don’t really experience the feeling of the fans. But it was a tournament where you’re driving to games and going to training and people are lining the streets.

“I remember my brother and I, on one of our off-days, came to a game at Old Trafford, I think it was Germany against Croatia. Literally, everyone was talking about England. What we experienced last summer in France [for the FIFA Women’s World Cup], the connection we had with the supporters will be tenfold compared to what we’ll experience in the Euros in our own country. We didn’t see it in France but we heard about it and were told about it. In the Euros, in 12 months’ time, we’ll see with our own eyes how much football means to the country.”