LEWIS HALL was heartbroken and shocked to be left out of Thomas Tuchel’s World Cup squad.
The left-back, 22, celebrated his this week with the winner in .
The Toon star, who has penned a , heads off for Three Lions duty with a point to prove having been forced to frustratingly watch this summer’s action back home with his mates.
said: “Yeah, I was gutted. In football, you never take anything for granted, but I’d say I wasn’t necessarily expecting it, if I’m being completely honest. Obviously everyone has their own opinions and you’ve got to respect that.
“But as soon as the first couple of weeks were done, when I realised I wasn’t going to be there, I just had to think to myself that if I wasn’t a footballer, what would I be doing, and that’s supporting England.
“So I was just with my mates watching the games together and just being a fan.”
While it was misery for Hall, a host of current and former team-mates did get the nod from Tuchel.
Hall said: “I was obviously supporting all of them with Dan [Burn] being there, Elliot [Anderson], Anthony [Gordon], and big Tino [Livramento].
“I was obviously buzzing for them and wanted all of them to do so well. So, when I was watching them and they were all playing really well, it obviously made me proud as well.
“So I was looking at it that way.”
Hall now hopes to show Tuchel exactly what he missed in the upcoming Nations League league clashes with Spain, Czech Republic and Croatia.
Asked if he had an extra point to prove, he said: “A little bit. You play enough games in a season anyways where they can see how you play, see what you’re good at, can improve on and how you fit into the squad.
“It’s always nice to go there and create a good impression. I’ll be looking to do that. I’m just looking forward to meeting up with everyone again, because it’s been a while.”
Hall at least knows that he will not be as busy as he has been in the opening weeks of the season. Despite Newcastle’s run of one defeat in five in the Prem, they have conceded a whopping 96 shots – with 22 of those coming against Hull.
On that worrying stat, he added: “It’s not nice. We know that that’s something we need to improve on. It’s difficult today, cause I felt like the first 60 minutes we didn’t feel like conceding at all, and then they get one chance and all of a sudden the game changes.
“That’s something that we’re looking at and trying to improve on. But yeah, it sounds like a lot.
“I’d love to see how it compares to everyone else before I comment on it, but it’s not really what you want to hear. You don’t want to be facing shots as a defender, but at the same time, it’s our job as well as the midfielders and the goalkeeper to be able to stop these shots and block them.
“We’re trying every day to improve our defensive work.”
Hall produced another stellar display to help keep Hull at bay. Manager Matthias Jaissle, who went viral after the game for buying a Toon fan’s birthday meal after bumping into the party at a city restaurant, cannot wait to see what more the player can contribute to his team.
He said: “He’s such a talented player, really focused, really committed. When you look at the statistics, he’s probably already at the same numbers compared to the whole last season.
“He’s doing an amazing job, and he has a bright, bright future.”
