England’s Indian adventure continues after a penalty shootout victory over Japan secured their place in the U17 World Cup quarter final.
The Young Lions were held to a 0-0 draw over the 90 minutes, after enjoying large periods of domination without being able to find a breakthrough goal.
But Steve Cooper’s men held their nerve when it mattered to seal progress, with Rhian Brewster, Callum Hudson-Odoi, Phil Foden, Curtis Anderson and Nya Kirby all scoring from the spot.
With Anderson having saved Hinata Kida’s penultimate penalty, it was good enough to send England into the last eight where they will play USA in Goa on Saturday.
And it was ultimately a deserved victory for England on a stifling evening in Kolkata, with England enjoying the better of the game than their opponents.
The closest they came was via Brewster, whose rocket of a shot hit the outside of the post and flew to safety after George McEachran and Foden had combined well in midfield to set him clear.
Japan showed glimpses of their danger though, and needed no invitation to shoot from distance if given the chance.
Their best openings fell to Soichiro Kozuki, who hit one effort into the side netting before shooting wastefully over in first-half stoppage time.
