Cup win recognition of English football, says Steve Cooper

Kolkata: England coach Steve Cooper was proud of the character displayed by his team in the face of adversity during the Under-17 World Cup final. England trailed by two goals after 31 minutes but showed grit and determination to overturn the deficit, scoring five in a superb display of relentless attacking football.

“I really did not think there was real panic. We should have scored in the first minute. We were the ones who took the initiative, pressed a lot higher and played forward a lot more,” Cooper said on Friday.

“I am just so proud of the performance. 2-0 down, we just played our way and we didn’t stop. We stuck to our game plan and our style.”

Cooper was delighted with the team’s performance in the tournament, outplaying Spain after going 2-0 down.

“We are worthy winners of the tournament, the football we’ve played and the amount of goals we’ve scored. We have individual talent, team identity, character and personality. We beat Spain playing our game. This is how we want to play, these players are being brought up with this football and England teams will play this way.”

“This is a recognition of where English football is and where we want it to go.”

Golden Ball winner Philip Foden, scorer of two goals in the final, said he was aware of his team’s capability of producing a comeback after trailing. “We knew we are capable of coming back. So we just stayed calm and played our own football. We did not get off to the best of starts but going into the half time, we knew the team’s calibre.