Twelve months ago Kyle Walker-Peters was among a group of Young Lions who suffered semi-final heartbreak at the hands of Italy, and he is determined to ensure history does not repeat itself on Thursday.
The Tottenham Hotspur full-back represented England last year at the European U19 Championship in Germany, where they reached the last-four before suffering a 2-1 defeat to the Azzurri in Mannheim.
Their performance in the tournament ensured qualification to the U20 World Cup and 11 members of that squad have graduated to be part of Paul Simpson’s party currently pulling up trees in Korea.
And with Italy the opposition once more in another major tournament semi-final, Walker-Peters is ready to renew hostilities.
“They’ll be very, very good at defending, we played them in the semi-final of the U19 Euros and they knocked us out,” said the 20-year-old.
“Once they got the first goal, they set up a block and defended, put their bodies on the line and they have a few very good technicians and were good from set-pieces.
“So we need to be careful in giving away free-kicks, but the main thing is definitely not to concede first.
“We’re confident though, having past experiences against Italy helps and we’ve played them a few times so we know their style and what they’re all about.
