Hartlepool United midfielder admits to 'strange' World Cup period as ex-Middlesbrough man reflects on England U17 success

As the 2022 World Cup heads towards its conclusion in Qatar, Cooke and the rest of his Hartlepool teammates have been continuing as normal, with fixtures and training sessions, with League’s One and Two continuing throughout the duration of the tournament.

The Pools squad missed parts of England’s Group B opener with Iran and, had Friday’s fixture with Crawley Town not been rescheduled, Cooke and his teammates would have been on the team bus home for the Three Lions’ quarter-final showdown with France.

“It is strange, I can't lie. A couple of weeks ago in the build up I wasn’t really looking forward to it. I don’t know why, maybe because we’re still carrying on,” Cooke told The Mail.

“But once it started and I saw some of the shock results like the Argentina game and the Germans getting beat off Japan, that’s what we love football for isn’t it? An underdog story.

“Things like that have really brought me into it but I can't lie, it’s very strange. We trained the other day when England were playing. We’ve got to be professional and do our job at the end of the day but it’s just one of them things.”

Something else which has surprised Cooke at Hartlepool during this particular World Cup campaign has been the lack of dressing room banter with a number of the Scottish players who arrived at the club in the summer.

The England-Scotland rivalry is the oldest in football and Cooke admits he had expected more stick from some of his teammates - although that may change should England be eliminated in this weekend’s quarter-final.

“There hasn’t been too much from them actually,” said Cooke.

“I must admit I thought there was going to be but they haven’t really mentioned anything.”

Cooke enjoyed European Championship joy with England’s under-17s in 2014 when scoring in the penalty shootout win against the Netherlands in the final in Malta.

And while Cooke is hopeful Gareth Southgate’s team can end the men’s senior team’s quest for major tournament success in Qatar, he maintains winning the under-17s Championships will remain a part of English football’s history.

“It’s probably my greatest achievement up to now, something that will live with me forever,” said Cooke.

“I know the senior England team sign your shirt and it's still on display at St. George’s Park, and the trophy is as well, so to have a little part of history with England is special.

“It’s every boy’s dream to play for England, no matter what level or what age group, so to win something is something I can't really describe because of the pure emotion, especially to have a hand in the final against the Dutch.

“I think I was second or third up and I scored. Don’t get me wrong, I was absolutely bricking it walking up. It was probably the longest walk up I've ever had. Thankfully it went in.

“But to have a hand in it, and win something, is obviously an unbelievable achievement.”