Sunday, September 25, 2022

St. George's Park

10:00 AM - Tactical Training

The training pitch was already set up when the squad arrived, with cones marking out specific drill stations and the coaching staff holding clipboards and discussing organization, and Carsley gathered everyone at midfield before splitting them into position groups.

"Wingers with Simon," Carsley called, and Demien moved toward the group that included Reece Darlow, Javier Crane, and Nathaniel Cross, and immediately the familiar discomfort of operating outside his natural position settled over him.

Simon organized the first drill with cones marking out a wide channel and a defender positioned to simulate one-versus-one situations, and his instructions came quickly because time was limited.

"Germany's fullbacks push high. When we win the ball, we'll have one-versus-one opportunities in wide areas. I need decisiveness. Receive, assess, attack. Two touches maximum before you commit to a decision."

Reece Darlow went first, and his execution was immediate and instinctive—receive, one touch to push the ball past the defender on the outside, explosive acceleration, cross delivered before the recovery tackle could arrive, and the entire sequence took maybe four seconds from start to finish.

"That's it," Simon called. "No hesitation."

Nathaniel Cross followed with similar efficiency, and Javier Crane's attempt showed slight hesitation before he chose to cut inside, though the decision came quickly enough that the defender couldn't adjust in time.

Then it was Demien's turn.

He received the ball from the coach's pass and took his first touch to control, but immediately his instincts pulled him inside toward central space where he'd naturally operate as a midfielder, and he had to consciously correct his movement to stay wide, and the half-second of mental adjustment meant the defender had already closed the angle.

Demien tried to accelerate past on the outside, but his timing was late and his touch took the ball too far ahead of him, and the defender stepped across easily to intercept before the cross could be delivered.

"Again," Simon said without criticism, and his tone stayed instructional. "Decision before the ball arrives, not after. You're processing like a midfielder—looking for the pocket. As a winger, your first thought is can I attack the space wide?"

Demien nodded and reset for another attempt, and this time he consciously committed to staying wide before receiving, but when the ball came his touch was too heavy as he tried to push it past the defender, and the challenge won the ball cleanly for the second consecutive attempt.

The drill continued for another fifteen minutes, and Demien's success rate improved slightly as he fought against his natural instincts, though watching Reece and Nathaniel operate in the same spaces with obvious comfort reminded him how much the position demanded habits he simply hadn't developed.

11:30 AM - Eleven vs Eleven

The position-specific work transitioned into an eleven-versus-eleven session where tactical shape was emphasized, and Carsley organized the teams to simulate England's expected formation against Germany's defensive structure, and Demien was placed on the left wing in the second group.

The game started, and immediately Demien's positional instincts betrayed him as he drifted inside looking for the ball in central areas where space naturally opened, but his movement into that space meant the left-back behind him had no width to overlap into, and when the ball was played wide it went to empty grass because Demien had vacated the channel.

"WALTER!" Simon's voice carried from the touchline. "Width! You've left the flank open!"

Demien raised his hand in acknowledgment and jogged back to the touchline, and frustration flickered through his chest because his movement had been instinctively correct for a midfielder, but completely wrong for a winger.

The pattern repeated several times over the next twenty minutes—receiving in wide positions but hesitating on whether to take on his fullback or recycle possession, arriving in central spaces already occupied by the actual midfielders, recovering slower than required when transitions happened.

None of it was disastrous. But all of it was noticeable.

At one point Kayden Muir collected the ball centrally and looked up to find Demien, but Demien had drifted inside again and was occupying the same vertical channel, and Kayden's pass went to Javier Crane on the opposite flank instead because that's where the width actually existed.

The session ended without fanfare, and as players grabbed water bottles and began their cooldown, Demien processed what had become clear—he could execute the role adequately with conscious effort, but he wasn't naturally comfortable in it, and that difference mattered when competing against players who'd spent their careers operating from wide positions.

Monday, September 26, 2022

St. George's Park

10:00 AM - Final Session

The final training day before travel carried that particular intensity of dress rehearsal, and the coaching staff organized tactical walkthroughs and set piece rehearsals without confirming the starting lineup, and players rotated through positions while Carsley emphasized organizational details over individual brilliance.

Demien participated in several rotations—sometimes on the left wing with the second group, sometimes as a late substitute scenario in the final third—and his execution remained consistent without being spectacular, and he recognized that consistency as both progress and limitation.

When the session ended at noon, Carsley gathered the squad at midfield and kept his remarks brief.

"Good preparation. Germany's a step up from Italy, and we'll need to be sharper in every phase. Bus to the airport leaves at five. Pack this afternoon. Flight boards at six-thirty. Questions?"

Silence.

"Good. Thank you for the work."

The squad dispersed, and Demien walked back toward the dormitory building knowing the truth—he hadn't done enough in two training days to force his way into the starting eleven, but he also hadn't played himself out of consideration for substitute minutes.

3:45 PM - Packing

Demien packed his kit bag methodically—boots, shin guards, extra training gear, headphones, phone charger—and each item went into its designated pocket because organization created control in situations where most variables remained outside his influence.

Owen was already packed and sitting on his bed scrolling through his phone, and the room felt quiet except for the soft sound of zippers closing, and when Demien finished he sat on his own bed and pulled out his phone to check messages.

One from his mother wishing him luck for Germany, one from Marco reminding him that exposure at international level continued building his profile regardless of playing time, one from Luca saying "don't fuck up your first touch again" with a laughing emoji, and one from Sophia sent an hour ago.

Sophia: Safe travels today. I'll be watching if they broadcast it.

He stared at the message for a moment before typing a response.

Demien: Thanks. Probably won't play much but appreciate it.

He sent it and set the phone down, and the honest acknowledgment felt better than false confidence because he knew where he stood—still learning the role, still competing for minutes, still on the periphery of the squad's established hierarchy.

5:00 PM - Departure

The team bus pulled away from St. George's Park as evening settled over the English countryside, and the squad sat in various states of quiet focus while the journey toward the airport began, and Demien took his seat near the back beside Owen while watching the familiar training facility disappear through the rear window.

Tomorrow they'd face Germany away in a match that carried more weight than the Italy friendly, and Demien would travel as part of the squad knowing he'd done enough to remain in consideration without doing enough to force selection.

Still on the bench.

Still learning.

Still in the picture.

And for now, that was enough.

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