I know that nobody will be satisfied with anything less than coming home with the World Cup.

It's special - when you start playing, you are aware of names like Wayne Rooney and Robin van Persie; you have seen them playing and know what great players they are. So it's fantastic to have a chance to line up with them. I'm really pleased with how that understanding has started off.

Losing one final, that happens, but when it happens three times in a row, that is something else entirely.

I have a lot of very happy memories of the Olympic Games, and the final against Nigeria and the goal mean an awful lot to me.

What I say about actors is you always want to find an actor you can play ball with. You throw the ball at them and you want them to throw it back. Your ball playing is a lot better when you play with good ballplayers, like any sport. Every actor I know feels the same way.

It was a very exciting time for me to play professional football, finally.

Football is just a game. Everybody takes it so much more seriously than it is, but there are many more important things in my life.

I don’t have any secrets. I know my style of football and sometimes it’s pretty simple.