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World Cup winner Woodman looking ahead to pre-season
Written by Dan King
Freddie Woodman came to the attention of the nation at the FIFA Under-20 World Cup - but admits he's just looking to catch the eye of Rafa Benítez when he returns to Newcastle United duty next month.
The young goalkeeper's superb penalty save in the final helped England to lift the trophy in South Korea - the country's first World Cup success at any level since 1966.
He conceded just two goals throughout the tournament and won the golden glove award for the best goalkeeper.
But rather than resting on his laurels, the 20-year-old - who made his debut for Newcastle's second-string at the age of 14 - has already set new goals.
Looking back on the tournament, he told nufc.co.uk: "It's going to be great for me and for the rest of the lads. It was an unbelievable experience and something that will be with me for the rest of my career.
"Hopefully I can take experiences from it, take them back to Newcastle and see what happens there."
Woodman signed a new four-year contract at St. James' Park in August and spent the second half of last season on loan with Scottish Premier League side Kilmarnock.
He made 15 appearances and said: "I loved every minute of it.
"It was a fantastic football club and it was a great loan spell for me. I played a lot of games and towards the end I really felt like I did well.
"I kept a few clean sheets and I got to play against Celtic and Rangers, which was amazing."
Meanwhile, Newcastle won the Sky Bet Championship title - and Woodman's success with England will only add to the feelgood factor when the players report back for pre-season training in July.
"Obviously I wasn't there at the end of the season but I imagine the atmosphere was buzzing," said Woodman. "The guys did well to get back into the Premier League and we'll see what happens when I get back and see what the plan is.
"I'm just taking every day as it comes and looking forward to seeing what happens."