It would be fair to say which England’s FIFA U-17 World Cup 2017 campaign started off with minimal hype developed by the media at home.
Maybe it was encounter, after years of viewing England teams swaggering into big-ticket competitions as one of the favourites and seeing the same team’s campaign end having a whimper. Or maybe it had been that U-17 groups do not figure excessive on the priority from the British press -- an understandable sentiment given that the U-17 team has never actually made it to the semi-final of a World Mug before this version. In fact , 2017 saw an England team playing at the U-17 World Cup for only the 4th time.
England gamers celebrate after winning the FIFA U-17 World Cup title. Getty Images
Sunlight was one of the rare newspapers to do a profile of the England team before this left for India. The article noted that this U-17 World Mug had acted as a stepping stone for players like Neymar, Ronaldinho, Xavi and Andres Iniesta, which England’s current era could also make their presence felt within the world stage in India.
The article continued to name Phil Foden, Angel Gomes and Jadon Sancho as the three England gamers to watch out for. Notably, the actual tournament’s top scorer, Rhian Brewster, failed to feature in the list.
Most of the news agencies restricted coverage to news reports throughout the group stage.
After the England team made it out of the group stages with a 100 percent record, Sancho was recalled to Germany Fifa 18 Player Auction coins through his team Borussia Dortmund. The Daily Mail used the opportunity to run a feature profiling the rest of the England squad. Interestingly, the item called Sancho as “without question the most high-profile member of the actual England squad. ”
The British press warmed up to the Younger Lions’ performances as the tournament wore on, with the win over pre-tournament favourites Brazil within the semi-finals spurring British media outlets such as the Daily Telegraph and also the Guardian to put away a player-by-player manual - ideally published by websites prior to a tournament starts in case of senior England teams.
The British press warmed up towards the U-17 team right after their win over Brazil in the semi-final. The Daily Mail (top), Daily Mirror (right) and Metro.
After the semi-final win, The Daily Mail speculated that England’s triumph over Brazil might have been plotted using a Subbuteo table and a group of miniature players. The article also mentioned how the tiny figurines on the table had been painted in Brazil and England colours.
The BBC even ran a profile on Brewster by interviewing the actual striker’s father Ian and Dan Seymour, a former coach Shield football academy, where the young Brewster took his first steps on the football pitch.
The Protector also ran an item detailing the team's ethnic diversity.
Once the team won the actual title, sports pages in England were dominated by how the English players had come back from 2-0 right down to prevail 5-2 over Spain in the final, a team that had beaten all of them in the European Championships earlier this year.
The Daily Mail, The Daily Express, The Daily Telegraph and the Independent prominently showcased the U-17 team's victory on their sports pages.
Media shops like the BBC used occasion to examine when the result was proof that fortunes of England were within the up.
The BBC carried a feature on six things you failed to know about the team where they mentioned how midfielder Gomes’ father too experienced won the title and goalkeeper Curtis Anderson had let in 23 objectives on his debut.
The entire world Cup triumph resulted in former England striker Alan Shearer to pay tribute to the England team’s confidence and character in his line for The Sun. “World Champions sounds great, no matter what level you might be at. Wish I can have been one personally, ” Shearer wrote before adding: “But it was the pure joy with that this group performed their football that actually stood out for me. Too often at mature level pulling within the England shirt appears to bring with it a great burden. ”
Shearer ended the line by exhorting Premier League managers to fut 18 coins become braver and give the children more first team opportunities, a sentiment that found resonance in most English media.
During the tournament, the actual British tabloids filled reams of line inches focusing on whispers of which European golf club was chasing in whose signature at the U-17 World Cup (English players, already playing at the youth academies of Premier League clubs, did not feature too heavily in this section while Brazilian footballers like Lincoln and Paulinho were clearly favourites).
With the U-17 World Mug title in the handbag, the focus back in England has understandable shifted to what’s next for these youngsters.
In his column for The Daily Telegraph, former England footballer Jamie Carragher wrote: “But getting watched the youngsters stand out on the international phase over the last few months, there will be greater demand to ensure these players are given a chance at the maximum level. ”
Expectedly, a lot of print space was given to Chelsea manager Antonio Conte’s quotes on fast-tracking players from the winning U-17 team in to the Blues’ first team. The Sun and The Evening Standard were amongst media outlets who carried the Italian manager’s quotes on players proving which they deserve a place within the first XI.
The England team that played in the final featured four Chelsea players - Callum Hudson-Odoi, Marc Guehi, Jonathan Panzo and George McEachran -- while Conor came on as an alternative. Notably, the top scorer at the tournament, Brewster, had left Chelsea for Liverpool 2 yrs back citing better playing opportunities.
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