Cole Campbell was 18 years old when he made his Bundesliga debut for Borussia Dortmund. But a subsequent loan move to Hoffenheim did not work out and he had to wait almost two years for his first start in the competition. It was worth that wait.

Now at Elversberg, the Texas-born forward marked his full Bundesliga debut with a goal in a 3-2 win over Bayer Leverkusen. He has since started in the 4-3 win at Borussia Monchengladbach. Only an offside flag denied him an equaliser against Bayern Munich.

“I went to celebrate and then when I turned around I was confused because I did not see any of my team-mates. It was an amazing feeling even though it did not count.” Amazing is a word that he returns to often in explaining his emotions this past month.

And why not? Elversberg, this tiny German club playing in the top division for the first time, could not have been where he envisages his career kickstarting aged 20. But four games into the season and this young group of players are the talk of the Bundesliga.

“The expectation was actually quite the opposite of what we have already shown,” says Campbell. “We are just giving everything that we have and trying to play the best football that we can.” And that means playing without fear, taking the game to teams like Bayern.

“It is obviously a different level when you are playing against some of the best players in the world.” But the key to it is “not to worry about who is standing there” and that has been evident in Elversberg’s approach, epitomised by their enterprising forward play.

“Bravery for me as an offensive player is to not be afraid of going one against one and trying something instead of being scared and not trying it because of their reputation. Something we will continue to do is be brave, give 100 per cent and see what happens.”

Speaking to Campbell, he sounds at home already. Asked who his friends are at the club and he name-checks most of the squad. “We are a very close team. I cannot say one guy.” Elversberg even reminds him of Iceland, where he spent part of his childhood.

“There are definitely similarities,” he says. “That small-town feel is similar to when I was in Iceland so I really like it here.” He enjoys visiting the coffee shops and has a fondness for schnitzel. “But I cannot eat it so often because it is not the most healthy thing.”

He has embraced life in Germany, learned the language too. “Before that, it was a bit difficult.” Maybe his multi-cultural background helps. His mother is Rakel Karvelsson, the former Iceland international. “I can also train with her, which is fun,” he reveals.

She still challenges him to the odd two-touch game. “She does not win anymore. When I was 14 or 15, I started to beat her.” Campbell will not be following in her footsteps with Iceland though. He has declared for the United States instead. “That is set in stone.” He was rewarded with a senior debut in the win over Canada this week.

What is not set in stone is how his career progresses and if it feels like an overstatement to suggest that Campbell was at a crossroads this summer, considering how difficult these past two years have been. It has been a waiting game for him after that initial breakthrough.

“I was expecting to play more,” he concedes of his time at Hoffenheim. Five months yielded only five substitute appearances for the club. “Maybe someone else will look at it and say it was a waste for me.” But Campbell himself refuses to see it that way.

“My mindset then was a lot different than it is now. The things that I have learned in these 22 months I would not have learned if things had happened differently.” It was character building, then? “Without this then my character would not have changed.”

Campbell adds: “Trusting in the plan that God has for you is something that you always have to do. God has a plan. I believe that it also strengthened my relationship with him and strengthened my mental toughness. I have become a better player.”

These references to his religious beliefs are frequent throughout this 40-minute audience with a group of journalists from around the world. Asked about comparisons with Christian Pulisic, he says: “Comparison is the thief of joy. That is in The Bible.”

On the subject of his Christianity, Campbell is at his most eloquent and it becomes clear that the process of rationalising this period in which his career plateaued was made manageable as a result of his faith. “It is very important to me,” he explains.

“It is easy to get caught up in football and the things that surround it but in football there are so many ups and downs. It is a bumpy road, you are going to have lows. It’s the same with life. To have God to hold onto in those times is something that kept me going.

“I can be the best footballer and achieve everything but in the end it means nothing if I do not have God by my side so my faith is everything for me. I want to tell people what I believe in and impact people in a positive way. For me, it is the most important thing.”

Regardless, Campbell still needs to succeed as a player to have this platform. And so, particularly after the Hoffenheim experience, this move to Elversberg had to work. “I needed to get minutes for my career and to play a bigger role than what I had at Dortmund.”

He adds: “The move for me was very important. And I think now, I am getting minutes, which is the most important for me to develop and to become the best player that I can be. This step in my career was the right one. And I am happy that I came here.”

He is their record signing. “There is pressure that comes with it. But on the other hand, there is also a lot of trust from them to believe in me. And I would say that the pressure that I put on myself to perform was already there before the money was involved.”

Campbell talks warmly of the atmosphere surrounding the football club and on a practical level can certainly be encouraged by how Nick Woltemade, Younes Ebnoutalib and Fisnik Asllani have all come to Elversberg and progressed their careers as a result.

Saturday 10th October 5:20pm


Kick off 5:30pm

“When you have other players that have gone there, they have gotten their minutes and they have developed and made a big step for themselves, that obviously it helps,” he acknowledges. “It had an influence on me coming here. It was the right step.”

Conversations with the club’s hierarchy convinced him. “They explained their plan and what the club is about.” And head coach Vincent Wagner is already proving a positive influence. “My defensive work is something that has improved a lot. He is helping me.”

The challenge now, with Elversberg’s support, is to become “the best version” of himself. “I do not think there is any right path. Every player is different.” But this path is working for Cole Campbell, a United States international now and seizing his Bundesliga chance.

When England were consigned to the World Cup play-offs back in June, it felt like a massive step backwards. How were the European champions not a shoo-in for the next major tournament in the international calendar?

The Lionesses only missed out by a whisker, finishing their qualifying campaign with 15 points from a possible 18. Just one result away. But it’s difficult to overlook how we got here. England’s 4-0 defeat to Spain was an eye-opener, their biggest margin of loss for 17 years. The heaviest of Sarina Wiegman’s time in charge.

It highlighted a gulf that felt more technical than tactical. In the moment, Spain showed themselves to be streets ahead in style and substance. A team with a plan, rooted in DNA and identity. Their possession-dominant performance blew England away.

The ignominy of the scoreline actually managed to flatter the losers rather than the other way around. And bigger picture, that poses a significant problem for Wiegman. Is a rivalry that was previously highly competitive now partial to Spanish supremacy?

The boss was at a loss to explain why England suffered for so long in a game that she expected to be “very tight”. “What I’m trying to do now is think, what caused this?”

Hopefully by now, some of that soul searching has offered answers. Wiegman will be grateful not to have to prepare her side to play Spain on this ocassion, but Greece, a nation ranked 55 places below England in international status. The Lionesses are fierce favourites to progress across two legs.

Perhaps this window presents an opportunity, then. A chance to stress test England’s resilience under pressure ahead of next year’s World Cup tournament in Brazil. Clearly the most important outcome is getting there. But how they do it is relevant, too.

Those nations who consistently dominate international football are masters of reinvention. This is England’s platform to prove themselves capable of that.

Wiegman has selected a squad of reliables mixed with a few wild cards, which will be welcome news to those critics (myself included) that believe England would benefit from an injection of fresh energy. Chloe Kelly and Ella Toone have been left behind. Chelsea’s Lexi Potter has been named in her first senior squad. Captain Leah Williamson also returns after missing June’s fixtures.

None of that constitutes a huge shake-up but is evidence of an intentioned move towards form-based decision making over reputational clout. In the thick of a World Cup cycle, that is the smartest play.

Potter is a precocious young talent who has thrived for Chelsea in a role alongside Keira Walsh this season. That pairing shows plenty of promise if Wiegman is looking for a tidy balance between ball winners and ball players in midfield. The boss believes Potter has already shown herself to be “comfortable” against top level opposition. Aston Villa’s Lucia Kendall, 22, and 18-year-old Erica Meg Parkinson of North Carolina Courage are of similar ilk.

England’s risk will of course have to be managed. They must accept these two games for what they are: must win. This next period is effectively their punishment for such severe underperformance in defeat to Spain three months ago. The reality of retribution.

And yet, the upshot might be beneficial. The Lionesses are clearly not World Cup ready and playing games of real consequence should help that. Ideally new faces stake a claim for a permanent place but it’s equally important Wiegman’s leaders turn up, too.

England’s fear factor is built on their nucleus of world-beaters. Get Walsh pulling the strings, Lauren Hemp crashing down the wing and Lauren James firing worldies. Ask Williamson to be brave stepping out of defence. Lucy Bronze to take no prisoners. Alessia Russo to finish the move that tells the world England remain a creative force. Above all, be fearless.

While the other already-qualified European superpowers – France, Germany and Spain – watch on from their sofas, England must prove, beyond any doubt, that they deserve to join them.

The play-off route

England’s path to next summer’s tournament in Brazil is via two play-off rounds.

Round 1 takes place over two legs this month and is split into two paths. England are in path 1, drawn against Greece. They travel to Crete for the first leg at the Pankritio Stadium in Heraklion this Friday, before hosting at the King Power Stadium next Tuesday.

Round 2 is scheduled for late November. If successful, England will face the winners of Slovakia vs Ukraine, again with the away fixture played first.

Tom Pidcock wanted to “stop racing” after saying that two of his team-mates were hit by a police vehicle travelling the wrong way down the course at the Tre Valli Varesine in Italy.

Pidcock finished second at the one-day race in Varese but was left “mad” after Pinarello-Q36.5 team-mates Marcel Camprubi and Thomas Gloag were knocked off their bikes with six laps of the finishing circuit to go.

Spain’s Camprubi was able to continue in the race but Pidcock’s fellow Briton Gloag stopped and required stitches on his knee.

“First of all, I wanted to stop the race, stop racing myself,” Pidcock told Eurosport after the race, which was won by Belgium’s Jarno Widar in a sprint finish.

“I was mad. I had guys all riding in front of me, for me, and then two of them are on the floor.

“This shouldn’t happen. But we continued and got back into the race and I’m happy that I could be on the podium.”

BBC Sport has contacted race organisers and local police for comment.

In August, two-time Olympic mountain bike champion Pidcock won his second cross-country world title at the Mountain Bike World Championships.

He dedicated that win to British cyclist Finlay Tarling, 19, who died on 14 August during the Volta a Portugal following a high-speed collision with a van that had strayed on to the closed road.

Camprubi posted a picture of a broken bike on Instagram Stories, with a caption that read: “Sad that you have to risk your life to race, one month after a tragic accident.”