The Young Lions' attention is now firmly tuned in on Friday's game with Estonia in Tenerife.

England v Estonia
UEFA European U17 Championship
First Qualifying Round
6pm, Friday 24 October 2008
Campo los Cuartos, Tenerife, Spain
Click here for competition details

As the England U17 squad prepare for their game with Estonia this evening, it is easy to think that the players will automatically be able to transfer the style of play they show at home to the stage in Campo les Cuartos in Tenerife.

It’s not quite that simple though, as whilst in England there are plunging temperatures and the prospect of British Summer Time officially ending on Sunday morning, the Young Lions have had to get used to slightly different conditions in the Canaries.

Their first game in the European Championship qualifiers on Wednesday ended in a draw with Armenia which disappointed Head Coach John Peacock, but he is now hoping that his team can get up and running with a win on Friday evening.

Despite the warmer temperatures, Peacock believes the evening kick-off can only help his team and their preparations otherwise have been geared to this.

“The games are kicking off in the evenings here, so that is a big help to us,” he revealed.

“The weather here at the moment is about 23 degrees though, so it’s quite hot and we’ve been training later in the afternoon so we have made allowances for that.”

Peacock has also been pleased with the facilities on offer in Tenerife, as his team look to secure their passage through to the second stage of qualifying in the Elite Round, which takes place next year.

England need to finish in the top two out of their group of four to achieve this and with hosts Spain providing the opposition in the final game next Monday, three points against Estonia has taken on added importance.

“We really are taking each game at a time and our only thoughts at the moment are with the Estonia game and then we’ll look at Spain,” he added.

“It’s our job to keep the lads focused and they only need to worry about doing their job on the pitch. They know it won’t be easy, as they found out against Armenia.

“The Spanish FA and Tenerife Federation have done an excellent job in terms of the hotel and training ground, so we have no complaints whatsoever there and now we just need to go out and get the win.”

The Squad