Don’t let Brazil victory be the only memory from Toulon, urges Iacovitti
● Forest defender hopeful Scots can beat England side featuring his good friend
ENGLAND U20
V SCOTLAND U20
Scotland will aim to complete the first half of a famous Auld Enemy double today by reaching the final of the Toulon Tournament for the first time by knocking out holders England.
Scot Gemmill’s under-20 side face the English in Fossur-mer just two days ahead of the massive World Cup showdown at Hampden on Saturday between the two senior sides.
The young Scots have won through to the semi-finals for the first time in 23 years, thanks to wins over Brazil and Indonesia, while the likes of hosts France, Wales, Japan and, of course, the Brazilians have all been eliminated.
England are still favourites, but they have been weakened by their own success at youth level because their first choice side will play in the Under-20 World Cup semi-final against Italy today – and the Euro Under 19s Finals next month. That means manager Neil Dewsnip has picked a younger squad than usual with a few quality, older additions, such as George Hirst, son of former Sheffield Wednesday striker David.
Nottingham Forest and Scotland U20 defender Alex Iacovitti – who will be up against his club team-mate Joe Worrall – is determined to ensure the Tartan Army are celebrating two wins in three days against the English.
Iacovitti, who has been personally coached by David Weir – assistant to former Rangers manager Mark Warburton – is determined to go all the way and at least make the final for the first time since the tournament began in 1974.
He said: “I really want to win this tournament now and make history. I don’t want the Brazil win to be the highlight now that we’ve got this far. England are a big team like Brazil and if we execute the gameplan as we did against Brazil, then we have a good chance.
“I’ve played against a few of their boys before, but I’m not too bothered about them. We’re more than capable of beating them.
“It’s amazing this is just before the World Cup game on Saturday. If we could both get the win, it would be crazy back home and so hopefully we can do it for the people in Scotland.
“We knew the Toulon Tournament was a big tournament, but perhaps there wasn’t the same level of interest at the start. But once we beat Brazil and got to the semis, people have started to realise we are
0 Alex Iacovitti says Scotland are more than capable of beating England and reaching the final. a really good team and can go all the way.”
Scotland will be boosted by the return of £13 million RB Leipzig player Oliver Burke and Iacovitti believes that could be a key factor.
He pointed out: “You can’t be a bad player if you play for a team who are second in the Bundesliga. He’s more than a threat and I think they will be frightened of him. He’s improved since he left Forest technically. When you come up against someone like that, he makes other players nervous.
“I’ve played with Joe at the back for Nottingham Forest since I was 13 years old. I know his game and he knows mine. It will be weird playing against him.
“Joe has weaknesses like everyone and we have to try and exploit them. I’ll give as much information [as I can] to the coaching staff about him.”
Gemmill has urged his players not to be overawed by the sense of occasion when they face England.
He said: “We all grew up looking forward to those games and being a part of those games. It’s definitely a brilliant occasion for the players to look forward to.
“Playing Brazil and England games are why we pushed so hard for this invitation. You have to handle the occasion. The players have shown they can be trusted to do that.” Celtic’s hopes of landing a £6 million windfall from the sale of Virgil van Dijk look to have suffered a blow. The Southampton defender appeared poised to move to Liverpool in a record-breaking £60 million deal which would have landed Celtic a windall because of a sell-on clause negotiated when the Parkhead club sold the player to Southampton in 2015. The clause is thought to be worth ten per cent of the next transfer fee.
However, Liverpool have now abandoned their hopes of signing Virgil van Dijk and apologised to Southampton for “any misunderstanding” over their interest.
It is understood Saints had not received any contact from Liverpool regarding their defender, yet the Dutch international apparently indicated an eagerness to become the latest player to swap St Mary’s for Anfield.
Jurgen Klopp is believed to have made Van Dijk his top target, with the chance to work with the Liverpool manager reported to have played a significant role in the player’s decision – information that stuck in the craw at Southampton.
Saints are understood to have asked the Premier League on Tuesday to investigate an alleged illegal approach, which has been followed by Liverpool announcing the end of their pursuit.
“Liverpool Football Club would like to put on record our regret over recent media speculation regarding Southampton Football Club and player transfers between the two clubs,” the statement on Liverpool’s official website read.
“We apologise to the owner, board of directors and fans of Southampton for any misunderstanding regarding Virgil van Dijk.
“We respect Southampton’s position and can confirm we have ended any interest in the player.”
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It is expected that the apology is likely to be the end of the matter in terms of an English Premier League investigation into the approach for a player who still has five years remaining on his deal at St Mary’s.