Young Lions head coach hoping to build on opening draw

Sunday 18 Oct 2015
England head coach Neil Dewsnip
Neil Dewsnip hopes "fine-tuning" on the training ground will see his Young Lions roar their way to victory over Brazil.

England Under-17s tackle the Samba Boys in their second group match of the FIFA World Cup in Chile on Tuesday evening.

And the head coach is hoping his youngsters can go one better than the 1-1 draw against Guinea in their opener.

Brazil v England

FIFA U17s World Cup
Group B
9pm, Tuesday 20 October
Estadio La Portada, La Serena
Live on Eurosport 2  

"Having not lost the first game we are now hoping to build on that and we are looking to win it," Dewsnip told TheFA.com.

"We’ve been fine-tuning a few things that we felt we could have done a little bit better against Guinea. We’ve addressed those issues and hopefully we can put those right against Brazil."

The England squad and staff visited the Estadio La Portada, which will play host to the Group B clash, on Monday evening.

After the crowd sided with the opposition in their first game against the west Africans on Saturday, Dewsnip is hoping his men will have the local support spurring them on inside the spectacular arena.

Neil Dewsnip at the Estadio La Portada in La Serena

Neil Dewsnip at the Estadio La Portada in La Serena

"That’s part of what makes the World Cup so special. You play in great stadiums against great opposition and we’ll do both this afternoon," said Dewsnip.

"The stadium is lovely and England versus Brazil at every level has a special ring to it.

"I don’t know what the psyche is between the Chileans and Brazilians – they could be arch enemies but we really don’t know.

"The two countries met each other recently in a World Cup qualifier that Chile won, so I’m sure there is competitiveness between them.

"So the fans may be on our side this time, it would be nice if they did."

HIGHLIGHTS: England U17s 2-2 Brazil U17s

And despite the mutual respect between the two nations, Dewsnip left no doubts about the target for his side against the South Americans.

"There’s obviously a massive respect between the two nations. We’ve talked to their staff and it’s apparent they have a mutual respect for our group also," he added. 

"This group have played them twice in recent years and it was a draw the last time they met each other in December.

"This afternoon we want to find out whether we can beat them, that is our target."

Watch England take on Brazil live on Eurosport 2 from 9pm.


By Gary Stonehouse Staff Writer in La Serena, Chile