Pregnant pause as Wolves' Conor Coady told family of England call

On Saturday evening, when walking one of his three boys to a friend’s house, Wolves’ captain finally had Gareth Southgate’s number flash up on his phone.

Two ever-present Premier League seasons, and years of hard work on the way to becoming the heartbeat of Nuno Espirito Santo’s side, paid off as Coady finally got a Three Lions call-up.

A long-standing dream became reality, although the 27-year-old’s parents were initially left a little confused.

“It’s amazing, absolutely incredible. From the moment I got the phone call on Saturday, it’s been a bit of a whirlwind,” said Coady.

“I was actually taking my little boy to his friend’s house.

“I had a text to say Gareth Southgate was trying to ring me, so I ran back to the house, told my wife and she was all excited. I then spoke to Gareth and it was a phone call I’ll never forget.

“It was an incredible moment and something I’ll remember for the rest of my life. I was shaking and it was an honour to receive it. It’s an honour to be here, honestly. The standard of training is incredible.

“It’s everything I thought it would be and more, so I’m massively honoured to be here.”

Naturally giddy with excitement once given the news by Southgate, Coady video called his parents to tell them about it.

And he explained: “I rang my mum and dad straight away. Me and my wife were on the call. She actually said ‘we have got a bit of news for you’, and I had my arm around my wife.

“So, they said ‘Amie’s not pregnant again is she?’. That’s what they thought at first, but then they got emotional when I told them.

“As any player will tell you, to come here is a really special feeling.

“I didn’t quite shed a tear – but Amie and my parents did. It was lovely to see, honestly.”

Now, if Coady plays against either Iceland or Denmark in the Nations League, he will be the first Wolves player to gain an England cap since Matt Jarvis in 2011.

Many have felt Coady has been deserving of Three Lions recognition for quite a while now, and he never gave up hope.

“To get to your national team is incredible. I watch all the games and there are some fantastic centre-backs here,” he said. “But I knew if kept working hard at Wolves, I knew something might come.

“To get this call now is absolutely incredible and I’ll embrace it as much as possible, to help the team in training or games, and enjoy it as well. You always dream about it. I watch every single game as I love watching England. So, getting that phone call was absolutely incredible for me.”

Coady added: “You’ve always got to be prepared and ready for if and when the time comes.

“It would be incredible to make my debut for the national team – I don’t even know what to say.

“But it’s about being ready. I need to work as hard as possible and make sure I’m ready because I’m here to help the team.”