Peacock's Hope
By James Marshall in Pachuca
Tuesday, 21 June, 2011
Hallam Hope and John Peacock get ready to face Canada.
The England U17 squad took to the training pitch on Tuesday to put the finishing touches to their final preparations for the second group game of the FIFA World Cup in Mexico, which takes place against Canada in Pachuca on Wednesday evening.
And speaking after the session was complete, Head Coach John Peacock insisted that his side won’t be taking the Canadians likely and he will field a strong side to get the win and take his side through to the last 16.
“We won’t be looking past Canada that’s for sure,” said Peacock, when asked at the pre-match press conference about group leaders Uruguay, who England play in their final group game.
“My full concentration will be on Canada and making sure the players are prepared as best as possible and we win the game.
“Canada have many good qualities and have a fantastic team spirit, so we will have to play very well to win the game.”
With three points already on the board following Sunday's victory over Rwanda, England know that a win in this game will be enough to secure progress to the knock-out stages and whilst Peacock was pleased with his side's first game in the World Cup, he knows that at this level there is never going to be an easy game.
"In my experience winning the first game is also very important, so I’m glad to say we did that and we did that very well," he added.
"But that doesn’t mean it will get easier from now on, Canada will be a very difficult game and we will have to play like we did against Rwanda to qualify for the latter stages of the competition.”
Striker Hallam Hope also suggested that the Canadians shouldn’t be underestimated after their defeat to Uruguay and predicts a hard game.
“I’m looking forward to the game against Canada, I think it will be a good game but it will also be a hard game for the lads, so we can’t underestimate them," added Hope.
"They will be looking to beat us after their defeat against Uruguay, but if we all play to our potential, i’m confident we will get the three points.”
The Everton striker, who opened the scoring for the Young Lions against Rwanda, was happy he got off the mark in the first game after previously hitting the post and forcing a great save from the Rwandan goalkeeper early on. But he then produced a cool finish to break the deadlock.
“I’m glad I got on the score-sheet against Rwanda," he said. "I had a couple of chances before that, with one hitting the post but it was great to get a goal in the opening game.”
“The most important thing tomorrow is a good team performance from the lads, three points and progression through to the last 16.”