Peacock: We must win

John Peacock says England Under-17s' attempts to qualify for the European Championships will be the culmination of a year's hard work.

Peacock's young stars are in Bosnia this week knowing three good performances will see them qualify for Belgium.

Standing in their way are Azerbaijan, Serbia & Montenegro and the host nation, who they meet this afternoon.

"This is what we have been working towards this year," said Peacock, who has been impressed with his charges.

"The training has been excellent since we met up. They have been very focused and there is an excellent team spirit. We know we have some good players. We just need to transfer that training ground form on to the big stage."

The Head Coach last locked horns with Bosnia in 1996 - the year of Joe Cole - but today will be his first meeting for over a decade. Needless to say, he expects a different proposition this time around.

"We played them more than ten years ago - I think we won 4-0," he recalled.

"We think they will drop deep when they defend and try and catch us on the break. That's something which the players don't have to contend with too often."

Peacock added that a good start was imperative if they want to claim top spot in the group, which would guarantee qualification.

"It's extremely important we win," he said. "It's not an easy group. People see these teams and think it's a foregone conclusion, but it's not like that. We are playing in Bosnia - that brings it's own difficulties. The weather has been pretty bad, so that will be a leveller. There's snow everywhere."