Published 16 November 2023 4 min read
Men's U18
England's Lakyle Samuel on U17 World Cup adventure
The Young Lions defender looks back at their opening wins and how squad have adapted to Indonesia
England men’s under-18s captain Lakyle Samuel sat down to discuss the Young Lions’ campaign so far at the FIFA U17 World Cup in Indonesia.
Ryan Garry’s side have already secured their spot in the knock-out stages after winning both of their two group games so far, starting with last weekend’s 10-0 victory over New Caledonia and then following it up with a 2-1 result against Iran.
The Young Lions are now preparing to face Brazil in their final Group C match on Friday (10am GMT), before discovering who they will face in the next round.
And having been at their base camp in Jakarta for over a week now, he speaks of the squad’s ambition to go the distance.
How’s the trip been so far after a week of being here?
The travelling to get here was long, but I thought we all got through it quite well and the team have adjusted well to the time zones. We’ve adapted well to the weather and the intensity of the training has been good, especially on the hard days when we’ve all grafted so we can work well together as a team. That’s shown in the games too, because we’re here to play good football.
Ryan Garry’s side have already secured their spot in the knock-out stages after winning both of their two group games so far, starting with last weekend’s 10-0 victory over New Caledonia and then following it up with a 2-1 result against Iran.
The Young Lions are now preparing to face Brazil in their final Group C match on Friday (10am GMT), before discovering who they will face in the next round.
And having been at their base camp in Jakarta for over a week now, he speaks of the squad’s ambition to go the distance.
How’s the trip been so far after a week of being here?
The travelling to get here was long, but I thought we all got through it quite well and the team have adjusted well to the time zones. We’ve adapted well to the weather and the intensity of the training has been good, especially on the hard days when we’ve all grafted so we can work well together as a team. That’s shown in the games too, because we’re here to play good football.
Onto the football, two games in and two wins so it couldn’t have gone much better?
The first game, going into a World Cup, you can expect anything really, especially against a team we’ve never played before. But we went into it with a good mindset. We showed respect to the other team and then took our chances as well and got a good result. The second game was much tougher but I thought we did well to get over the challenges and we stopped what would create their momentum as well, which helped us a lot.
How was that Iran game? After their victory over Brazil in the first match, it gave you a real opportunity to get through with a game to spare?
In the first half, we started really well but then they got a set-piece goal. We always knew we could get back into the game, not just to draw but to go and win as well. In the second half, we dominated the ball and when we got the first goal, I just thought we had a chance to go on and win. It took a bit of magic from Joel [Ndala] with a great finish but when it went in, we just enjoyed celebrating together.
Were they a different sort of team that you’re used to facing?
Definitely. The difference between club and international level with the teams that you’re facing is really big and some teams are really direct. I felt New Caledonia were like that as well, in trying to play balls in behind us so for me as a defender, you always have to be on it and concentrated and we did that well as a team.
The first game, going into a World Cup, you can expect anything really, especially against a team we’ve never played before. But we went into it with a good mindset. We showed respect to the other team and then took our chances as well and got a good result. The second game was much tougher but I thought we did well to get over the challenges and we stopped what would create their momentum as well, which helped us a lot.
How was that Iran game? After their victory over Brazil in the first match, it gave you a real opportunity to get through with a game to spare?
In the first half, we started really well but then they got a set-piece goal. We always knew we could get back into the game, not just to draw but to go and win as well. In the second half, we dominated the ball and when we got the first goal, I just thought we had a chance to go on and win. It took a bit of magic from Joel [Ndala] with a great finish but when it went in, we just enjoyed celebrating together.
Were they a different sort of team that you’re used to facing?
Definitely. The difference between club and international level with the teams that you’re facing is really big and some teams are really direct. I felt New Caledonia were like that as well, in trying to play balls in behind us so for me as a defender, you always have to be on it and concentrated and we did that well as a team.
15 Nov 2023
2:13
Highlights: England 2-1 Iran
The best of the action from the FIFA U17 World Cup clash in Jakarta
Now onto Brazil, that will be another different test and style to play against…
They look like a decent side. I feel like they’ll be direct again but with good individual players on the wings, so we’ll look to stop them at source and we need to work together as a team because they’ll be street smart with their game. It’ll be a tough game but I know with how we’ve been playing this tournament it should help us to be motivated to go into the match with high hopes. We’ve had two wins from two and they lost their first game and won their second so we’ll see how it goes.
Brazil are one of those nations people dream of facing, the iconic yellow shirts. Is it exciting for you all?
Yes, exactly. They’re obviously a big nation with big expectations on them but there's also big expectations on us to go and win. We just want to beat them and come out on top so it shows the rest of the tournament that we’re not here to mess about.
England won the U17 World Cup in 2017, has that been something you’ve looked at? And if so, how much inspiration have you all taken from that group and what many of them have gone on to achieve since?
It would be amazing if we could go all the way and win like they did in 2017. As the captain as well, I remember watching Joel Latibeaudiere during that tournament and he was such a leader throughout it all. It’s my job to try and help keep the team going throughout the tournament too, and we will have decisions that might go against us so we just need to keep working hard as a team to grind out the results to get that far.
They look like a decent side. I feel like they’ll be direct again but with good individual players on the wings, so we’ll look to stop them at source and we need to work together as a team because they’ll be street smart with their game. It’ll be a tough game but I know with how we’ve been playing this tournament it should help us to be motivated to go into the match with high hopes. We’ve had two wins from two and they lost their first game and won their second so we’ll see how it goes.
Brazil are one of those nations people dream of facing, the iconic yellow shirts. Is it exciting for you all?
Yes, exactly. They’re obviously a big nation with big expectations on them but there's also big expectations on us to go and win. We just want to beat them and come out on top so it shows the rest of the tournament that we’re not here to mess about.
England won the U17 World Cup in 2017, has that been something you’ve looked at? And if so, how much inspiration have you all taken from that group and what many of them have gone on to achieve since?
It would be amazing if we could go all the way and win like they did in 2017. As the captain as well, I remember watching Joel Latibeaudiere during that tournament and he was such a leader throughout it all. It’s my job to try and help keep the team going throughout the tournament too, and we will have decisions that might go against us so we just need to keep working hard as a team to grind out the results to get that far.
Away from the football. what do you make of Indonesia? How has your welcome been and have you learned anything about the culture?
I feel as though everyone is really together over here. They’re nice people and they greet you well and treat everyone with respect so I really like that side of it. When we went to visit the Garuda Lions last week, that was a great experience for me because I love doing stuff like that and trying to make people happy. It was a good experience for us all to get out of the hotel and see life outside of our football lives.
Is there any message for your friends, family and everyone back home?
Just keep supporting us and we’ll look to get the job done over here and hopefully win the tournament for you all.
I feel as though everyone is really together over here. They’re nice people and they greet you well and treat everyone with respect so I really like that side of it. When we went to visit the Garuda Lions last week, that was a great experience for me because I love doing stuff like that and trying to make people happy. It was a good experience for us all to get out of the hotel and see life outside of our football lives.
Is there any message for your friends, family and everyone back home?
Just keep supporting us and we’ll look to get the job done over here and hopefully win the tournament for you all.
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