Adam Lallana is learning from the England Under-21s backroom staff this month as the Brighton attacking midfielder considers moving into coaching one day.
Lee Carsley’s Young Lions were crowned continental champions over the summer and kick off qualification for the next edition at Luxembourg on Monday.
Under-21s boss Carsley is assisted by former England star Ashley Cole and goalkeeping coach Tim Dittmer, with Lallana joining the coaching staff for this month’s camp.
The 35-year-old is still plying his trade for high-flying Brighton, with the 2016 England Player of the Year coming off the bench in three of their opening four league games.
Lallana has now temporarily turned attentions to the Under-21s, heading to St George’s Park in a bid to learn from the set-up, while acting in a mentorship role for players.
This is not the 34-cap former international’s first dalliance with coaching.
Lallana assisted Andrew Crofts during his time as interim Brighton boss after Graham Potter joined Chelsea last September.
Chelsea defender Levi Colwill was on loan at Albion last season and, speaking after his first England senior call-up, was full of praise for Lallana’s impact on his career.
Asked for the biggest influences on his career, the England new boy said: “Last year Adam Lallana.
“I am someone who is a chilled person and sometimes I need someone to give me a bit of a push. And at first I did not really understand why he was always on me, trying to help me.
“But then once it clicked in my head, I realised that he was only trying to help me.
“I was happy and lucky to play alongside him and he definitely helped me.
“There were times when I was having an off day or not really feeling like myself and he was there, no matter what, pushing me.
“It has definitely made me wake up a bit and realise the opportunity I have got and that I cannot waste it.
“Just in training. Giving me compliments, if I needed them. If I was struggling a bit, asked me if I was alright. If I am doing well, he would push me to make sure I was still doing well. Communication.
“He was always putting his arm around me, the same as Lewis Dunk.
“At Chelsea, I have Ben Chilwell and Thiago Silva, leaders in the team for a reason. That is their job to help the young ones and I have had that. I have had the best.”
Carsley hopes 'young' England will benefit incoming boss Tuchel
England interim manager Lee Carsley said the widened pool of young players available for selection will help incoming boss Thomas Tuchel.
Carsley was handed the reins to the national team temporarily following Gareth Southgate's departure and has given opportunities to young players during his short spell, which will end with the Nations League match against the Republic of Ireland on Sunday.
The 50-year-old has handed debuts to six players - Morgan Gibbs-White, Angel Gomes, Noni Madueke, Lewis Hall, Morgan Rogers and Curtis Jones - during his five-match reign.
"The challenge [for the young players] is to stay there now. It's a tough squad to get into, and they've put themselves in the picture," the outgoing coach said.
"It's good for Thomas [Tuchel, who takes charge on January 1] that the pool has increased.
"I've seen them up close. I know what they're capable of, and they've got the mentality to compete. There are so many quality players, the competition is extreme, and they've got to stay in the race."
Carsley came under pressure after the Three Lions lost 2-1 to Greece at Wembley in October, but a 3-0 win in the return fixture on Thursday has put them in a strong position in their Nations League group.
Chelsea 2-0 Manchester City: Bompastor's side go top of WSL with late show
Chelsea left it late, scoring twice in four minutes, to secure a 2-0 win over Manchester City in the Women's Super League to leapfrog them to the top of the table.
Mayra Ramirez and Guro Reiten got the all-important goals, condemning City to their first league defeat of the campaign.
The visitors, who were without the injured Lauren Hemp, arguably should have taken the lead in the first half when Khadija Shaw latched onto Sandy Baltimore's wayward backpass, but the forward could only drag it wide of the far post.
In a tight game, Chelsea stayed calm, though Ramirez wasted a chance to square it into the box to give a team-mate an easy tap-in early in the second half.
The Colombian did not make the same mistake a second time. On a quick counter-attack, she brushed Alanna Kennedy aside to reach Maika Hamano's throughball before weaving away from Alex Greenwood to drive it into the bottom-right corner in the 75th minute.
Just four minutes later, they doubled their lead. Reiten was left in acres of space on the right of the box and curled a delightful finish out of Ayaka Yamashita's reach.
Chelsea maintained their perfect record under Sonia Bompastor, making it 10 wins from 10, and moved two points clear of City at the top of the WSL, still with a game in hand over their title rivals.
Data Debrief: Battling to the end
Even so early in the season, there was a lot riding on this in regards to the title race, and City have seemingly blinked first.
They looked far from their usual best, possibly in part due to Hemp's absence, as they struggled to create many meaningful chances.
Chelsea were also guilty of being wasteful early on but looked the more likely to score, managing 15 shots compared to City's eight while also edging the expected goals (xG) count (0.85 to 0.56).
Bompastor also became the first-ever manager to win each of their first seven games in the WSL.
Indonesia 0-4 Japan: Visitors stay unbeaten with rout
Japan continued their unbeaten start to World Cup qualifying with a 4-0 victory over Indonesia on Friday.
Two goals from the visitors in either half were enough to seal the three points and get them back to winning ways after a stalemate with Australia last time out.
Ragnar Oratmangoen should have put Indonesia ahead, but he hesitated one-on-one with the goalkeeper, and Japan did not look back after that. They got a bit of fortune with their first goal, Justin Hubner deflecting a cross into his own net in the 35th minute.
Takumi Minamino got their second just before the break, finishing off a pacy counter-attack by darting onto the end of Kaoru Mitoma’s cross to sweep it past Maarten Paes.
While there was not much the goalkeeper could do with that one, he was at fault for the third as he gifted the ball to Hidemasa Morita, who coolly picked out the bottom corner just after the break.
Yukinari Sugawara came off the bench to round off the scoring in the 69th minute. He raced down the right wing and instead of looking to his options, he rifled it in from a tight angle at the near post.
Japan are up to 13 points after five games, sitting top of Group C, while Indonesia are bottom, still in search of their first win.
Data Debrief: Clinically done
For a team still chasing their first win, Japan are probably not high on the list of opponents they would want to face, and Indonesia were undone by their visitors.
Hajime Moriyasu's side created 0.79 expected goals (xG) to Indonesia's 0.72, while they only had four more shots than their hosts (12 compared to eight).
Japan took their chances, and though the win margin may look harsh, they were deserving of the three points, having dominated throughout the game.
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