Star winger Jadon scores brace to power England to 4-0 victory at Kolkata
A star-studded England lived up to their billing as star winger Jadon Sancho scored twice in a 4-0 rout of Chile in a highly entertaining group match of the FIFA U-17 World Cup here yesterday. England, the European qualifying tournament runners-up, toyed with their South American rivals with 64 per cent ball possession and Chile were at the mercy of the rampaging Young Lions forwards several times. England had as many as 21 shots at the goal out of which nine were on target as the Group 'F' match gradually turned into a one-sided one affair. Sancho struck in the 51st and 60th minutes, while Callum Hudson Odoi (5th) and Angel Gomes (81st) were the other scorers.
England's Jadon Sancho (right) dribbles past a Chile player at the Salt Lake Stadium yesterday. Pic/AFP
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Chile, the South American runners-up who were having acclimatisation issues with the Indian conditions, looked clueless and failed to counter the wave of English attacks. They had just four attempts at the England goal, all of them off target. To make matters worse for Chile were reduced to 10 men in the 79th minute when goalkeeper Julio Borquez was shown a straight red card for a harsh foul on an opposition player. For the sizeable crowd at the brand new Salt Lake Stadium, it was a treat to watch a quality England team scoring goals at will.
England coach Steve Cooper did not start with Manchester United's Angel Gomes but still completely dominated the first half with overwhelming 70 per cent possession. Sancho showed his class with his deft footwork. He and striker Rhian Brewster were a constant threat for Chile from the left side. Cooper is not fretting over the likely absence of attacker Sancho after the group stage, saying the team is not thinking beyond the preliminary round at the moment. "All of are here for the group stage at the moment. We need to qualify (for the knockout round) first. We are not thinking of anything else until we get out of the group stage," Cooper said when asked about Sancho's status after the group stages.
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