England can build on youth team’s triumph, insists Conte
Whether a young player makes it as a top-class professional footballer often comes down to just two factors: talent and attitude.
The astonishing success of England’s Under-17 side in winning the World Cup – particularly the stylish manner in which they did it – has answered the question of whether their young players have the talent to make it.
But crucially, according to their manager, Steve Cooper, the attitude of his youngsters is just as good. Indeed, he believes too many young English players are maligned.
“Young footballers in general are a credit to their generation, and I think sometimes they get a lot of stick about it being too much too soon, or not having a mature enough attitude, which I don’t think is fair,” said Cooper.
“Ultimately it’s up to us, and any industry really, to develop not just good footballers but good people.
“I sometimes think there is a bad impression of young footballers, but I think it’s partly a generational thing and the technology that exists in their era”, Cooper said. “But if you see how they train and how hard they work, how much respect they show adults – that should be recognised too.
“This trophy is a dedication to the good work we have done in England, the developmental academies, the dedicated work being put in at the Football Association. I mean these boys are three or four years deep into the coaching sys- tem, so it’s the recognition of where English football is and where it wants to go.”
And where English football wants to go is to the business end of tournaments at senior level, an ambition that seems far more likely after the summer of success enjoyed by all age-group teams. The under-20s have been considered the stellar group, having won the World Cup in June, but their under-17 counterparts showed a level of skill and flair that makes it plain why Antonio Conte and Pep Guardiola feel England will be a threat at future tournaments.
That they played Spain off the park in the final has done little to dampen that impression. Phil Foden was the star of the tournament, scoring twice as England came from a two-goal deficit to win with ease, and he is the type of talent that Spain has so often produced in recent years – a fact that has marked him out as the likely heir to David Silva at Manchester City.
This, though, was not a case of the English copying the Spanish way of playing, according to Cooper.
“We beat Spain by playing our own game, not their game,” he added. “This is us doing our own thing our own way. So this is rewarding. I always thought we were in control of the game, even when we were 2-0 down. We didn’t panic. We were the ones that took the initiative.”
They certainly did, and now some – most notably Foden and Rhian Brewster, the Liverpool striker who won the Golden Shoe after scoring his eighth goal of the tournament in the final – will be tipped to make the breakthrough at a higher level. Cooper, though, insists this was a victory that was the epitome of team spirit.
He said: “Foden got the Golden Ball, but each of the 21 members have got a gold medal around their neck. I am not the one to talk about individuals, but Joel [Latibeaudiere] and Angel [Gomes], the nonplaying captain, picked up the trophy together without anyone telling them. This typifies the togetherness in our team.”
England were undoubtedly the story of this World Cup, winning hearts and minds of locals with a series of attacking performances.
“How they played in that second half, these boys should just go to the senior World Cup,” said Debasis, 24, a salesman at an electronics shop in the City Centre II shopping mall, to his colleagues in Bengali. They all agreed.
But the support in India will not help these players to fulfil their potential. Gareth Southgate, however, the senior head coach, will be enthused.
“I speak to Gareth a lot, as do all the national coaches, and I think that is one of the key drivers at the moment,” said Cooper.
“He is very much interested in what the younger teams are doing. He is very supportive, very aware of the work we are doing and that is a good thing because we are all working towards him. We want these players to come through. We select players who we think can go the distance and have longevity.”
They have every chance.
‘We want these players to come through. We pick players we think can go the distance’