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Two of Everton's internationals have been on media duties ahead of games for their respective nations.

Firstly, Blues captain Seamus Coleman says he is determined to enjoy the remainder of a Republic of Ireland career he thought might be finished after suffering a serious knee injury.

Quoted by the BBC, Belfast Telegraph and elsewhere, Coleman said: "I kind of thought that might have been it. It looked to be a bad injury."

Coleman, who has 68 caps for his country after his debut in 2011, added: "Thankfully I got away without it being an ACL which was important at my age."

Elsewhere, Jarrad Branthwaite revealed he came close to quitting football at the age of 15, ahead of a potential senior England debut against Brazil on Saturday.

The 21-year-old defender had to overcome Osgood-Schlatter disease and was given a month by previous club Carlisle United to prove himself and that he had enough determination to make it as a footballer.

Quoted by the Daily Mirror, amongst several other national outlets, Branthwaite said: “I had tendonitis in my knee. I was out for 18 months, couldn't run, that was about when I was 15. So they weren't gonna give me a scholarship.

‌“They gave me a four-week trial period to basically see if I wanted it enough, and then they ended up giving me one, and then within two, three months I was given my first professional contract.

“If it wasn't for my mam and dad, I probably wouldn't have carried on. In my mind, I was thinking 'if they don't want me now, what's four weeks gonna do?'. But my dad gave me a training programme, and I stuck to that, and it helped me get a scholarship.

‌"For any footballer, you've just got to make the most of every opportunity you're given. Every time you step on the pitch, you got to give it your all, and perform at the best you can, and see where that takes you.”

Branthwaite also hailed the impact of Everton manager Sean Dyche for giving him a platform and the required confidence to perform at the top level.