England’s march to the knockout stage with three convincing wins in the group league indicates the strength of its armoury which, according to coach Steve Cooper, is a reflection of the preparedness of the side.
England’s performances have made it one of the title contenders.
“I have hardly seen an England team play like this before. Brazil is playing very well, but I was quite thrilled seeing England bring up such a high level of football,” Tournament Director of the Local Organising Committee Javier Ceppi said here on Sunday.
With the England Under-20 team beginning the cycle of success winning the maiden youth World Cup barely four months ago in Korea, the junior team is expected to continue the process by winning the Under-17 crown, which again will be a first for the English.
Cooper has, on quite a few occasions, praised the effective youth development initiatives in his country, which has yielded a steady flow of talented players.
Scoring 11 goals in three matches and conceding just two, Cooper has enough reason to be “pleased” about his team’s performance in a group that comprised a North American champion, a Latin American runner-up and the Asian champion.
“We knew coming here that we had players comfortable playing at this level, which was proved tonight,” Cooper said after his team completed a 4-0 rout of Asian champion Iraq.
England fielded eight players from the bench and dominated Iraq from the start.
“We showed we have 21 players who can start games and make a difference at this level, which is great,” the England coach said.
Given the assortment of talent, Cooper did not look very upset with the news that attacking midfielder Jadon Sancho may be recalled by his current German employer Borussia Dortmund.
“It is really important that we reflect on the good things that have happened so far and focus on some of the things we can improve on as well,” Cooper said ahead of the more challenging knockout stage.
According to news coming out of the English camp, Sancho is yet to leave the city and had trained with his team ahead of the pre-quarterfinal against Japan.