England forward determined to help conquer France.
UEFA European U19 Championships
The Finals
18-30 July 2010
Normandy, France
Click here for fixtures
By Nicholas Veevers in Caen
England forward Matt Phillips believes if they can find similar form to that shown in the second half against Holland, they have nothing to fear when they take on France in Saint-Lo this weekend.
The Young Lions narrowly lost by a single goal against the Dutch and now know that they need to ideally beat hosts France on Saturday if they want to seal a spot in the semi-final.
And Phillips, who made his first appearance of the Finals against the Dutch after impressing in the Elite Qualifying Round in May, feels England should go into their final Group A match with nothing to fear against a French side who have won both of their games so far to storm into the last four.
“We’re not going to fear them in any way, we just want to go out there and play our game,” revealed the Wycombe Wanderers winger.
“Obviously we lost the game (against Holland), but I did feel that in the second half we controlled most of the game and in the later stages of the first half we got hold of it as well.
“We now need to build on that to go into the game against France full of confidence and looking for the win.”
A relative newcomer to the international scene this season after impressing with his form for Wycombe over the last two seasons, Phillips admits he now feels part of the international scene following a goal on his full debut against Bosnia-Herzegovina in the Elite Round and then an appearance in the Finals against the Dutch.
“As you start getting more and more games under your belt, you start getting more and more comfortable and confident in yourself,” he revealed.
“The lads all welcomed me into the group from when I first joined up with them, so I’ve been pleased with it all.
“The experience that I’m getting here is a different type of experience to what I’d get with Wycombe, so it’s good for me to prepare for the season like this.
“I feel I’m growing into it now and the more games that I play, the more comfortable I feel so hopefully I can play a few more.”