England U17s ready to go on the attack against Brazil at AFC Telford
England Under-17s chief Steve Cooper is determined to send the fans home happy from tonight’s New Bucks Head clash with Brazil.
Cooper won the World Cup in India with last year’s under-17s – one being Wolves midfielder and ex-Thomas Telford pupil Morgan Gibbs-White, writes Joe Edwards.
He wants his young Lions to play free-flowing attacking football at the home of AFC Telford United (kick-off 7pm) and reckons the South American teenagers will be approaching the game in exactly the same manner.
“You expect nothing less from Brazil,” said Cooper.
“We’ve got a good relationship with them and we always like to play them as they always give us a tough game.
“If we’re off the pace in any way, they’ll exploit it.
“These are the games that we want to be playing – the toughest tests possible. They don’t come tougher than Brazil. It’ll potentially be a top game.
“It’ll be two teams trying to attack and dominate possession, with exciting players all over the pitch.
“Hopefully those who come along will go away with a smile on their face.”
The encounter is part of a four-team tournament which also includes Russia and the USA.
A draw would see England take the crown, but Cooper wants to do so in style by getting the win.
They have won both of their matches so far – 3-1 against the USA on Friday and 3-0 against Russia, who have actually entered their under-18s into the tournament, on Sunday.
On the performances so far, Cooper said: “We’ve been playing well.
“The performances have been good.
“The lads have carried out the playing style we want from them, and the work rate we want from them as well.
“We want fans to see a creative team that wears the shirt, represents the nation, with pride. It’s about fans coming out and being motivated by what they’ve seen from these young players, to be excited about the future.”
Opponents Brazil beat Russia 2-1 on Friday but lost 3-2 to the USA on Sunday.
They trained ahead of those games at Ellesmere Rangers.
Russia have used Wem Town’s Butler Sports Centre base too.
“It’ll be the biggest crowd of the tournament, I think” added Cooper, with a 2,500-strong expected.
“One of the contributors to the success of the under-17s is tournaments like this, facing a variety of teams from all over the world.
“It’s also good for players to be playing in front of good-sized crowds to get them used to that. It helps their development.
“We’re testing the players in the short term but also preparing them for experiences they’ll have in the future, for the senior side.”
