England's wingplay, Brewster's goal made the difference: Denia

England's fabulous wingplay, Rhian Brewster's goal and Spain's switch to an all out attacking game by leaving spaces in the defence towards the end did them in, a crestfallen Spain coach Santiago Denia said after losing the Under-17 FIFA World Cup final here on Saturday.

"Our forwards played well first 40 minutes, then the England goal really hurt us," Denia told mediapersons at the post match presser.

"England took a step forward by pressuring us up front that forced us to play possession game and they are very good at transition game. We had open spaces at the back and we did have some chances. But we did not have as much control as we would have liked," the coach said.

 

Denia said his team was confident of victory going into the break with a 2-1 lead. The Spaniards considered the match open even when England went up 3-2 in the second session.

"Until 3-2 it was an open game but after that we had to go forward and leave spaces behind and we conceded goals. We had a very clear chance when it was 3-2 but after that England made it 4-2 and we lost the game at that stage," the former Atletico Madrid player said.

Asked why Spain failed to stop England's wingplay, he said: "We had prepared a plan to curb England's wingplay by deploying the left and right back with the midfielders to help them. As you guys saw, they (England) have very good technical players who can play inside. And Foden also cut in from the right. We knew that but we didn't lay well."

Denia said he was broken after the defeat but still proud of the work the team has done over the past two years,

"That goes beyond the result of final. We have accomplished as a team. We are runners up, we are Euro champions. I am proud of that," he said.

"England are a very good team and they played better than us. I am happy with the way we played but this result... we have to accept it."

Lauding England playmaker Philip Foden, Denia said he had a great future ahead.

"He is a great player and has a great future ahead. We tried to defend him but he played well".

He did not think Spain were at a disadvantage having to play at four different venues. In contrast, England played six of their seven games in Kolkata.

"No, that is something we cannot control. We are happy to play in four venues. We have been trying to adapt to the conditions in the first two-three days. But it wasn't enough. Today, that is clear".

--IANS

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