Adam Phillips says England must be more clinical in front of goal if they are to defeat Brazil on Sunday.
The Liverpool midfielder appeared as a second-half substitute during the Young Lions 3-1 defeat to USA on Friday, but he says there is a determination within the squad to bounce back in style against the Samba Boys.
“The lads are disappointment with the result and we could have started the game a lot better,” he told TheFA.com.
England v Brazil
Nike U17 International Tournament
8pm GMT, Sunday 30 November
Premier Sports Campus, Lakewood Ranch, Sarasota
“We were three down when I got in and I think the game had already gone. They had decided to sit back by that point, so it was harder to break them down. We managed to get one, but the US did really well to be honest.”
He continued: “There’s a determination to put Friday’s result to bed and move on and come back with a better result on Sunday.
“We have to get a result if we are to stand a chance of winning the tournament.
“It would give us a massive boost going into the last game if we could get the win against Brazil – it would provide a big lift.”
Having featured for England U16s against the same side in this competition 12 months ago, Phillips knows what to expect from their South American opponents – but if his team-mates can find their ruthlessness in front of goal then he is confident they can get their Nike International Tournament campaign back on track.
Phillips is hoping for a chance to impress on Sunday
“They are very good technically and physically so we’ve got to ensure we put the effort and hard work in to match that if we want to get a result.
“We also need to take our chances when we get them. Against Brazil, you are not going to get loads of opportunities, so when they do come we have to take them and be clinical.”
He added: “It would be good for me to play against Brazil again. We played them last year and lost 2-1 – we were a bit unfortunate but hopefully we can do better this time.
“I remember they were a very tough team, but it was also a lot warmer so it was hard chasing around the pitch.
"The weather is better this year and I believe we can beat them.”
