Lois Fidler believes England can recover from their European Championship semi-final defeat and qualify for next year’s FIFA Women’s U17 World Cup.
Andrea Sanchez scored twice and Pilar Garrote notched the other as Spain defeated the Young Lions 3-0 in Burton to reach the final.
But England’s Head Coach is confident her side can bounce back and beat Italy in the third/fourth place play-off to make it to Costa Rica in March.
England 0-3 Spain
UEFA Women's U17 Championship
Semi-final
Thursday 5 December 2013
Burton Albion FC
Fidler said: “I said to the players that they can be disappointed but not to forget what we came here to do.
“Ultimately we’ve still got our prize in front of us – qualifying for the World Cup.
“We need to recover and preparation for Italy begins straightaway.
“I told the players to remember what it feels like to see the Spanish celebrate. Fingers crossed we’ll qualify from the next game, then we’ll come back in three months and maybe we’ll take on Spain again in Costa Rica.
“The players are clear and focused on what they want to achieve. They know they have got another bite at the cherry; I don’t think I’ll need to pick them up.”
Fidler praised her team for the way they battled to get back into the semi-final, albeit in vain.
Sanchez opened the scoring in the 16th minute and Spain went in 1-0 up at the break, but England finished the first half strongly.
Garrote grabbed a second goal early in the second half and Sanchez completed the scoring in the final minute, direct from a corner.
Fidler added: “It was another hard working, competitive and spirited performance from the team.
“For large portions of the game we were very much in it. I’m pleased with the way the players took our game plan to Spain.
“I don’t think we were intimidated by them, we gave it our best shot.
“Overall I think the better technical side won and I want to congratulate Spain and wish them the best of luck in the final.
“It would have been great to get an equaliser going into the break but unfortunately that didn’t happen. We took a few more risks and it was a gamble that didn’t pay off for us.”
