Young Lions boss Steve Cooper says his side are focused and full of respect for Spain as they prepare for their European U17s Championship final.
England will meet Spain in Varazdin on Friday evening, with Cooper aiming to lead the U17s to their third title in the competition following the successes of 2010 and 2014.
And after winning all five of their games in Croatia so far, on the back of six victories in their two qualifying rounds, Cooper wants to make it a perfect dozen to take the title home again.
“We really hope we can put on a good climax against Spain tomorrow to end the tournament,” said Cooper.
“We’ve really enjoyed our stay in Croatia, we’ve very much enjoyed making the most of it and we’re delighted to reach the later stages of the competition.
“I’m not surprised that Spain have reached the final, as soon as the draw was taking shape, there were some strong teams either side of it and we always thought they were favourites to reach the final.
“To get to the final of the European Championships, you’ve got to be strong across all areas of the pitch and Spain are exactly that, as we’ve seen from their performances so far.
“So we expect a tough game and we really respect Spain’s qualities, but at the same time we have our own plan and we’ll be ready to go.”
After being able to name the same starting line-up for all five games so far, Cooper will be forced into making changes for the final.
Tashan Oakley-Boothe was forced off in the semi-final victory over Turkey after being knocked unconscious and has now been replaced in the squad by Manchester City’s Joel Latibeaudiere.
But after a full assessment of his knock, Cooper was pleased to report that Spurs midfielder Oakley-Boothe will be able to remain at the squad’s base in Zagreb to cheer on the team in the game.
“Tashan has come through the tests fine and is going to make a full recovery, so we’re really pleased about that,” he revealed.
“It wasn’t a nice thing to see for any of us in the group, but we had the opportunity to replace him and Joel is with us now.
“But it’s about the squad being together and whatever team that we put out there, we really believe in each other.”
The final kicks-off at 7pm (BST) on Friday evening and will be shown live on Eurosport.
