Fikayo Tomori says England Under-20s mean business as they approach Monday’s World Cup quarter final with Mexico.
The Chelsea defender has been a key part of Paul Simpson’s squad as they have advanced into the last eight of the competition in South Korea.
And as the Young Lions make their final preparations ahead of the game in Cheonan, Tomori believes they’re in a good place having picked up four wins and one draw on their trip so far.
“The mood in the camp is good and everyone is excited for the game,” he revealed.
“To get to a World Cup quarter final, it’s a big game and we want to perform and get to the semi-final.
“These are the games you want to play in and our goal is to win it [the World Cup].
“We’ve been taking it game by game and that strategy has worked for us so far, so we want to keep that going, into the semi-final and then on from there.”
It’s been an eventful year with the Young Lions for Tomori, who switched his international allegiance from Canada last year in time for the U19 Euro Finals, where qualification for the World Cup was achieved.
And that came on the back of a standout performance for the Canucks against England U20s and a certain Marcus Rashford at Doncaster in March 2016 which caught the eye.
Canada won 2-1 and were captained by Tomori, who kept Rashford firmly under wraps just a matter of months before the Manchester United forward ended up heading to Euro 2016 with England’s senior team.
“I remember that game,” admits Tomori, who was born in Canada but grew up in Kent from a young age.
“Marcus Rashford had just broke onto the scene and was playing, but all of the Canadians were asking about the players who I’d played with and against, so the likes of Ola Aina, Charlie Colkett and Kasey Palmer from Chelsea all played in that game and other players I knew.
“It was a tough decision because I’d spent two camps with Canada and had built relationships there, but when England came calling they had the Euros and the World Cup to come so I thought it was a good opportunity.
“Having grown up and playing in England, it was a bit easier as well so I think I made the right decision and it was one that I had to make.
The 19-year-old has had to show his character at the World Cup too, after scoring an own goal in the group game against Guinea which helped the African nation secure an unlikely 1-1 draw.
But the central defender, who spent the second half of this season on loan with Brighton & Hove Albion in the Championship, says that memory is now firmly in the past.
“It just happens in football, it’s part and parcel and the circumstances of it were just freak really so I knew I had to bounce back and you can’t dwell on these things,” he admitted.
“We’ve had two more games since then so I’ve had to bounce back and do well for the team.”
