A united front

John Peacock believes the tight bond within the England squad could prove crucial in their bid to lift the World Cup.

The young Lions celebrated en masse on Friday night after Jordan Spence's last-gasp winner against Brazil earned their top-spot in Group B.

The substitutes raided the pitch to hug their skipper, the two reserve goalkeepers embraced Alex Smithies whose penalty save proved vital, but probably the most telling moment came from Tom Taiwo.

Sent off in the last minute, perhaps harshly, for a late tackle, the endearing midfielder put his personal disappointment to one side to share in his team-mates' success. Indeed, his toothy grin was wider than anyone else's.

While Peacock was a little more restrained at the final whistle, the Head Coach sees the togetherness of the squad as a huge positive.

"There is a great unity in the camp," said Peacock. "It's one of the great plus points in this group. There are some very talented players, but the spirit is first-class. To win anything you have to have a unified group.

"There is disappointment from the players who are not playing, but they all support the players on the pitch. There is a great photo of the subs mobbing the captain who has scored the winning goal - that's great."

Peacock's masterstroke of packing the midfield against Brazil worked perfectly. Daniel Gosling played a pivotal role as a holding midfielder while Michael Woods and Henri Lansbury, playing just ahead of the Plymouth starlet, covered acres of ground to subdue the Brazilian's attack.

"Because of their attacking ability, it was important we did not get picked off too easily in the middle and defending thirds," explained Peacock.

"So we slightly altered the system and put a holding player in front of the back four which dealt with their number ten. It worked well. We were disciplined in not diving into challenges. You do lose momentum going forward though. We limited the number of chances they had. That was very pleasing."

While his team carried out their orders to the last word, England needed two individual pieces of brilliance to prevail.

"The response of Smithies after their first goal was first-class," said Peacock. "We weathered a bit of a storm and had some good fortune. We got through that and grew in strength. The goal before half-time was an important turning point.

"There were ups and downs in the last ten minutes, but we wanted to try and win it. I was delighted when I saw the winner go in. Jordan's reaction was great - I could not believe it when it went in. The euphoria on the touchline was there for all to see."

England's reward for topping their group was to return to Jeju on Saturday afternoon, the island where the young Lions spent just over two weeks before flying to Seoul for the Brazil match.

"Going back to Jeju is a big help," said Peacock. "We spent 16 or 17 days there preparing. It is a familiar surroundings, but we had to win to go back there."

England will know who their last-16 opponents are on Sunday evening when the final round of group games are played.

While the young Lions are the talk of the tournament after upsetting Brazil, it's business as usual for Peacock and his troops.

"We are focused on the next round," he said. "You enjoy the good times as there are many disappointments. It was good to have the euphoria, but we are fully focused on the last-16. It would be a great disappointment if we don't achieve our goal which is to go a lot further."