'We only have one chance'

England are just 90 minutes away from the quarter-finals or a plane ticket home - but Michael Woods is confident the young Lions can extend their stay in Korea.

Fresh from winning Group B, John Peacock's outfit face Syria on Thursday in the Round of 16 at the Jeju World Cup Stadium.

The Three Lions will be favourites to progress but, having reached the knock-out stages of the competition, Syria will be gunning for a famous upset.

"They are an unknown quantity," said Woods, who has started all of England's games.

"We have seen videos of them. They will be physically strong, well organised, hard to break down and strong at the back. We will have to be patient at times but if we play like we can then we should get to the quarter-finals."

Syria held Argentina to a goalless draw in their first outing of the tournament and they were desperately unlucky to be edged out 2-1 in stoppage time against Spain three days later.

With their World Cup future hanging in the balance, Syria beat Honduras 2-0 to book a meeting with England.

"They had a good result against Argentina while Spain, who we know are a good side, only beat them in the last minute," added the Chelsea midfielder.

"Syria won't be mugs. We are going in with confidence but we won't be underestimating them."

England's best performances in the last 12 months have come when their backs were against the wall.

They left it to the last minute to qualify for the European Championships, Daniel Welbeck's injury-time header against Serbia sealing their place in the finals.

There, England prevailed over Holland and France in must-win games to reach the final while in Korea, the young Lions dramatically beat Brazil last Friday to win the group.

"We know we only have one chance - one defeat and you are gone," said Woods. "But we have played a lot of tournament football and I think that will stand us in good stead."

Woods shoulders a heavy weight of responsibility in his role as a central midfielder and this was never more evident than in the game against Brazil where he had to shelve any attacking tendencies in favour of snuffing out the likes of Lulinha et al.

The knock-out stages bring a new level of pressure, but Woods is cherishing his World Cup experience.

"Every player wants to play in a World Cup but not many get the chance," he said.

"Most of the lads around the country would snap their right arm off to be here, playing against the best players in the world your age and being able to test yourself against the likes of Brazil. It shows where your game is and how good you are."