England’s younglings are continuing to go great guns, with the Under-17s barrelling their way into a World Cup final on Wednesday afternoon.
This coming just three months after their Under-20 stablemates beat Venezuela to snare England’s first World Cup honours since 1966 out in South Korea.
Anyway, after scoring a hat-trick in the quarter-finals of the Under-17 World Cup against USA, Rhian Brewster repeated the feat once again by slotting away all three goals in a 3-1 win over Brazil in the semis.
Amid stamina-sapping 29-degree heat, here’s the moment the teenage Liverpool striker wrapped up his triple to secure England’s passage into the final…
Thanks to fine performances from Brewster, as well as hotly-tipped Man City midfielder Phil Foden, the Young Lions will now play either Spain or Mali in the final in Kolkata, India, on Saturday night.
That said, Brewster’s knee slides still need a little work…
Painful failed knee slides dot Tumblr dot com pic.twitter.com/rdfm4WbjZS
— Jack Lang (@jacklang) October 25, 2017
So, well played England – not a phrase you hear yourself say an awful lot.
Turns out the Under-17s had a secret weapon stashed in the dressing room, too…
England have a Subbuteo table in their dressing room for the U17 World Cup semi-final with Brazil. Love it. pic.twitter.com/HO5ntcTBWo
— Adam Shergold (@adamjshergold) October 25, 2017
We’ve been here before several times, but maybe, just maybe, English international football is turning a corner.