England striker Rhian Brewster scored a key goal in Saturday’s win
Liverpool forward won the adidas Golden Boot as top scorer at India 2017
Brewster: “It shows that football in England is evolving”
A Saturday night in Kolkata, India will long be remembered for one of the more entertaining finals the football world has seen for some time. It will certainly live long in the memory of striker Rhian Brewster and his England team-mates, who were crowned FIFA U-17 World Cup India 2017 champions in the most remarkable of fashions.
Trailing 2-0 to Spain late in the first half, Brewster provided the turning point for the Three Lions with a headed finish just before half-time. It was the spark that England needed, as they scored four more goals in the second half to win their first-ever U-17 World Cup title.
“Scoring just before half-time was key to making it 2-1 because whoever scored the next goal was a bit crucial,” Brewster said to FIFA.com after the final. “I was happy to score my eighth goal of the tournament and win 5-2.”
Fighting spirit When a response to falling behind was needed, Steve Cooper’s side found the energy to produce a comeback that the 66,684 that were in attendance at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan Stadium will not soon forget.
“Losing 2-0 at the time, we thought ‘we’re in for a game here’, but we knew if we scored quick goals, it was ‘game on’,” said the Liverpool youngster. “We did in the second half and won comfortably, in the end. It was just amazing from the boys.”
The U-17 World Cup trophy was not the only piece of silverware that the Three Lions claimed by the end of the competition. While England team-mate Philip Foden was awarded the adidas Golden Ball as the tournament’s top player, Brewster claimed the adidas Golden Boot as the top scorer of India 2017.
“At the beginning, I scored one in three or four games, so to win the Golden Boot and score a couple of hat-tricks, it is an amazing feeling,” Brewster said. “I enjoyed every moment of this tournament. It’s been a great month.”
Bright future Success in India caps a remarkable year for England’s youth teams. Along with securing a maiden U-17 world title, the Three Lions also won the FIFA U-20 World Cup in Korea Republic and a UEFA European U-19 Championship crown.
For Brewster, these tournament victories underline that England’s future looks bright. “It shows that football in England is evolving, we’re good technically and tactically, and we got fighting spirit,” the forward stated. “That’s what we will see from English teams .”