Leicester City's Layton Ndukwu had given his England U17s the lead on the stroke of half-time in Sunday’s clash with the Selecao, but the tables were turned with a late red card for Trent Arnold and two Brazil goals in the space of three minutes.
Peacock's Young Lions refused to lie down, though, and their efforts were rewarded when Liverpool midfielder Adam Phillips chipped home an equaliser with less than ten seconds left in the 96th minute of additional time to seal a 2-2 draw.
England 2-2 Brazil
Nike U17 International Tournament
Sunday 30 November
Premier Sports Campus, Sarasota
“It was an interesting game and I quite enjoyed it,” said Peacock. “First and foremost, the lads did an excellent job, and with all due respect, there was a lot of provocation out there. They were very disciplined, and they gave a good reaction from the performance in the first game.
“We changed the system slightly and they adapted to that very well and we deserved to be in front at the break.”
Peacock continued: “The sending-off was a big disappointment, and Trent knows that and will learn from it.
"It was cruel to then see us go 2-1 behind, but it was a great attitude from the players to come back. I felt they just kept going and it was massive character shown that stands us in good stead for the future.”
The experience gained from encounters such as Sunday will be vital in the development of Peacock’s squad, and he says there are plenty of positives from the game.
“We’ll review this game then quickly move on to Australia who will be another top challenge”
John Peacock
England U17s head coach
“The whole tournament they will learn a lot from. Sometimes you have to stand up and be counted, and we tried to play in the spells that we had the ball, but you also have to be resilient to get something out of a football game.
“There’s different ways to try and win a match, and you have to compete and they did that exceptionally well. So there were many lessons to be learned, but a lot of positives game out of it.”
And of Phillips’ late equaliser, he added: “That shows the character of the team that they just keep going. I’d have been really disappointed if we hadn’t got anything out of it.
“To turn the disappointment from Friday around within 48 hours, and to get a reaction like we did and deal with the provocation against a top team, they adapted themselves to the challenge and we deserved it in the end.”
Having secured their first point of The Nike International Tournament, Peacock’s attentions turn to Tuesday’s final game with Australia – and he is determined to see his side finish on a high.
“We’ll review this game then quickly move on to Australia who will be another top challenge. We don’t want to regress on this performance.
“It was poor on Friday but good yesterday, and these are the highs and lows of football.
“You’ve got to keep building on the positives and I’d like to finish with a successful and winning performance on Tuesday.”
