A close contest on the cards

MARGAO
When two sides pretty much are friends off the field and meet each other a few times over the last couple of years, the familiarity of the opposition makes the challenge to strategise all the
more difficult.
Will it be the Stars and Stripes or the Young Lions, one's guess is as good as finding a diamond in the rough. But rest one can assure that the USA versus England quarter-finals clash at the FIFA U-17 World Cup at Nehru Stadium, Fatorda on Saturday will be a close contest.
Speaking to the media at a pre-match briefing on Friday, John Hackworth, the USA U-17 coach, stated that the game against England will be certainly one to watch out for. "We know England very well at the age group level. We have played them four times in the last two years and we are pretty familiar with each other. It will be a tremendous game one way or the other," Hackworth said.
"Every time that we play them it has been entertaining, competitive. We have two teams having similar styles, philosophy and principles. We expect a real good contest tomorrow," stated the experienced gaffer.
Hackworth who has been with the USA U-17 lads at the World Cup for four editions as an assistant or now as the head coach, says the current side is the best that could ever be. "The teams of 2003 and 2005 both made it to the quarter-finals. However that was before the tournament grew to 24 teams and teams advanced straight into the quarter-finals from the group stages. This (2017 side) is the first time a US team won a knock-out game (v Paraguay 5-0) since the 1999 edition. It is a team full of talent, good character, team that enjoys time with each other and is fun to work with," the former head coach at MLS side Philadelphia Union said. Andrew Carleton, a midfielder who plies his trade with Atlanta United FC, has struck two goals in competition - against India and Paraguay -- and looks good to add to his tally in the quarter-finals. "We have been playing together for three years now. Tim (Weah), Josh (Sargent) and I have a pretty good connection. That we get well off the field, it has helped us on the field as well. In the Paraguay game (Round of 16), Josh and I figured out how to move off the ball which helped us to break their defence," Carleton revealed.
Meanwhile, Steve Cooper, the England U-17 Head Coach expressed his excitement on the match-up. "The World Cup experience has been wonderful. It has been beneficial to the development of the team and staff. The team is in real good shape, spirits are high and focused and looking forward to the game," the Young Lions coach said.
England has at various stages in the competition thus far has shown an enviable flexibility with their starting XI that makes it difficult to the opposition to strategise. "I think it is the recognition of the strength of the squad. We have got 20 players here who are playing for the country at the World Cup. All are playing at that level of performance so far and we have been able to show that. It is a beautiful problem to have as a coach," Cooper said. "It may be difficult to make decisions but rather have that than the opposite. I understand why others try to guess what the team is. But I think more than anything else it is a good recognition of the depth of the squad we bring to India," he emphasised.
With England enjoying a delightful summer at the age group level by winning the U-20 World Cup, the U-19s winning the Euros, the U-21s reaching the finals of their Euros as well, will it be fair to say the U-17 unit who lost late on to Spain (continental finals in a shoot-out), make it all the way in the ongoing FIFA U-17 World Cup?
"It works two ways really. Any of our teams would want to be as successful as we can. But we also want to play in a way that will help us in the long term. But regards to this tournament, we are not looking farther than the USA game. It would be naïve to think that. That is how our approach has been," the seasoned coach explained.