England Under-17s head coach spoke of his pride at his team’s victory in the World Cup and said the key to their victory was their self-belief even when they were losing to Spain.
Steve Cooper, whose side eventually won 5-2 in Kolkata, said: “I’m so proud of the performance. Two-nil down, we played our way, we didn’t stop, we stuck to our game plan, we stuck to our style. We’re building for the future and that’s the way to do it.”
Phil Foden, who scored England’s third and fifth goals, said his team-mates’ refusal to panic after conceding twice in the first 31 minutes was what helped them to England’s first victory at this age group. “We knew we were capable of coming back. We had to stay calm and play our own football. We didn’t get off to the best of starts. We got in at half-time and got the team together and we came out firing. And we saw it out in the second half.”
Pep Guardiola, Foden’s manager at Manchester City, noticed what the midfielder was capable of in pre-season and said that England’s senior side will profit from this victory in the long term. “After [pre-season] he trained with us every single day. Of course, he is just 17. He is a young player,” said Guardiola. “He is a player in our squad. Every day he is in the locker room with our guys. That is the best way to learn, from the experienced guys, about what it means to be at a high level. It is so important for Manchester City, for him, for everybody, that he played at a high, high level in that competition.” Guardiola added: “Big congratulations to the manager, all the staff and the players because for English football they need that. It is the step England need. It happened in Spain. Spain was always last 16, quarter-finals … then they arrived one moment in the semi-finals and since then they have won every time. That’s why it is so important. To finally win.”
