Jonjoe Kenny has urged his England Under-20 squad mates to finish the job in South Korea and lift the World Cup.
The Everton defender has been one of the Young Lions’ stand-out performers at the competition, as England have progressed to the semi-final.
And Paul Simpson’s side will come up against Euro rivals Italy on Thursday as they do battle for a place in next Sunday’s World Cup final in Suwon.
“We didn’t come to the World Cup just to take part, we’re here to win and that’s what we’re trying to do,” said Kenny after Monday’s 1-0 victory over Mexico in the quarter final.
“We’ve been away for four weeks now and we don’t want to spend all that time away from home for nothing.
“We want to win it now, get to the final and hopefully lift the trophy.”
The Young Lions had to show their character to see off Mexico in Cheonan, where a second-half goal from Dominic Solanke proved the difference.
But when midfielder Josh Onomah was harshly sent off for a second booking with 20 minutes to go, Kenny and his team-mates had to dig in as Mexico desperately looked to find a way back into the game.
“That’s what we did, we got the clean sheet and we’re through,” added the former Wigan Athletic and Oxford United loanee.
“It’s tough when you go down to ten men, it’s a bit harsh on Josh as he’s one of our main players, but we battled hard as a team with ten men got what we needed.
“I think it’s well deserved, we’ve played five games now and we’ve been brilliant in those matches, but we still have a little bit more to prove and we’re looking forward to Thursday now.”
Kenny and his squad-mates are now heading back to familiar territory in Jeonju, where they have already played three games, to prepare for their clash with the Azzurri.
The 20-year-old was part of the England team who suffered the pain of a semi-final defeat against Italy at the U19 Euro Finals last July, but many of this squad also tasted victory over them at U17 level when John Peacock’s side knocked them out at the Elite Round stage en-route to their Euro title in 2014.
“Of course, we owe them one and want to get one over on them after last year,” admitted the right-back, who featured for the Toffees as a substitute on the final day of last season.
“But when the game comes around, we’ve got to do what the gaffer wants us to do and then go out there on Thursday and do it all again.
“We’re a close-knit group, we’ve been around each other for a long time and we know what we’re all about.
“Every game is getting bigger, I don’t know how you can’t get up for a game with England in the World Cup, that’s what we came here to do.”
