A tremendous servant to us since arriving from Sporting Lisbon in the summer of 2014, the 23-year-old was rewarded for similar levels of continuity and development with his national team by boss Gareth Southgate when he was made skipper for Friday’s prestigious friendly against old rivals Germany.
The Three Lions were missing a handful of players but still put in a committed shift to hold the reigning world champions to a goalless draw at Wembley – clearly familiar territory for Eric this term as we’re using the national stadium to play our home games.
“It’s obviously a very proud time for me and my family and everyone that’s been with me and helped me along the way,” beamed Eric as he spoke to us after England’s training session at Hotspur Way this afternoon (Monday), around the same time as Southgate announced that he will retain the armband against Brazil on Tuesday night.