Joel beefs up to star for England
PHIL Foden may have caught Glenn Hoddle’s eye in the England opening U17 World Cup game in India but he wasn’t the only Blue on show.
City, in fact, had three of the starting line-up (alongside another who has recently left the Etihad in Jadon Sancho) on show for the 4-0 win over Chile.
Curtis Anderson started in goal and Joel Latibeaudiere, a centre back, was given the honour of captaining the team. It continues an impressive recovery for Latibeaudiere after he was forced to miss crucial games for club and country earlier this year.
Injury ruled the 17-year-old out of both the FA Youth Cup final and most of the U17 European Championships.
He flew out to Croatia as an emergency call-up for the final but couldn’t prevent England losing to Spain in the final on penalties.
Despite the disappointments, Latibeaudiere has emerged a better player – and looking noticeably dif- ferent. “I spent a lot of time in the gym when I was out,” he said.
“The physios and sports scientists said that ‘this is the time when you can improve there and we can get you ready and push you as much as we can’.
“Being a defender you need to be good in the air and quick at sprinting, so getting strong helps a lot.”
The work already looks to be paying off.
Latibeaudiere was happy to throw his newly-added weight around against Rotherham’s seniors in the Checkatrade Trophy, and knocked a team-mate out of the way to head home a corner in the UEFA Youth League win over Shakhtar last month.
In England’s opening World Cup game on Sunday, the City defender – who signed his first professional contract with the Blues in the summer – was an assured presence as their attacking players ran riot.
The creative forwards may be getting the headlines but the backline are also counting their own victories.
“We’re really happy with the clean sheet, because goal difference is a really big thing and, as a defender, it’s like a goal for me,” Latibeaudiere said after the Chile game.
Mexico and Iraq await in the group stages this week but the Blues starlet has already pencilled in another tournament date – the final will be played on October 28.
It will mean more than a month away from the Etihad Campus but there is genuine belief in the camp that they can go one better than their effort in May and claim the top prize.
“We are definitely going [there] to win it, 100 per cent,” he added.